Remember Me?
by Edfan765
Summary: Years after his banning, Link lives a dull life, the polar opposite of Zelda's. But when an evil gang starts a series of attacks, only a former smasher and a princess have a chance to preserve Smashville. Rated T for language, sexual themes, and blood.
1. The Inevitable Wedding

**Remember Me?**

**I'M BACK! *Arms Rocket Launcher* WITH A VENGANCE... at no one in particular. *throws Rocket Launcher away, randomly hitting a poor OC in the head* Now, behold as... I make my first ever serious fic? WTFOMGBBQ!**

**Yes, a new chaptered fic. Not my usual style of writing (without humor, oh no!), but hey, why not?**

**Chapter 1: The Inevitable Wedding**

Our story starts 2 years after Tabuu's defeat. The Smashers defeated the threat, and now live peacefully in the Smash Mansion. Much has changed since Subspace, yet the biggest change, was that one person was missing. He has been missing for a year. Well, not missing, but _banned_ from the mansion.

In Smashville, there were rumors going on about a mysterious cloaked man who never seems to be happy. He however gives advice to those who need it when he notices them. Many speculations have been made up. Some people say he was a refugee during the War on Subspace. Others say he lost his lover in a tragic accident. Whatever the reason was, no one really knows.

On a rather large house on top of a lone hill in Smashville, a man walked out. His ruffled, dirty blond hair got half-caught in the middle of his eyesight. The young adult had an eeirly familiar look to one of the smashers. Strangely, he was wearing a large fedora, covering up most of his head.

"Mornin' Luke!" A teenager called, throwing a newspaper towards the man. Luke caught the newspaper, and waved back.

"Thank you Zack." Luke said. He sighed. _It's been such a long time since I was as cheerful as Zack._

He looked at the newspaper's main article: **Is the Cloaked Mystery Man Real?**

Luke let a small smile creep onto his face. He read the article. While he read, he noticed obvious spelling errors. "They really have to get a new editor." Luke admitted.

**Many rumors have spread all over the nation about the Mysterious "Cloaked Adviser." People have been met at random times of the day by this mystrious "Cloacked Adviser." While people claim he was advisor, wanting to help people with their needs and such, others claim that he is nothing but a scandelous vagabond.**

**"Speculation grows about [this] mysterious person. He seems to be good at heart, but is just communicating to us the wrong way." Renowned Singer, K.K. Slider says.**

**Much debate surrounds this man- continued on page 22.**

Luke decided to stop there. He flipped to the next page. Suddenly, his pleasant mood suddenly turned into a sour, spiteful one. Anger was evident on his face, as he took the newspaper and threw it against the ground. He proceeded to walk back into his house.

As soon as he slammed the door, he fell to the ground, on his knees. He looked up to see a few old trinkets.

_Oh **Link**... What the hell did you do to deserve this?_ "Luke" thought.

This man was actually Link, the only Smasher to become banned from the Smash Mansion. He had no where to go, so he changed his name, and moved to Smashville. Why he became banned is known to only him and Master Hand.

He got back up onto his feet. He walked towards an old picture, no bigger than a piece of folded paper. It was a picture of Zelda. The picture used to give Link so many pleasant memories of when things were normal.

"I knew I would lose her... just not like this." Link sighed. Morale drained, he sat down on his couch and attempted to recollect his thoughts.

He looked outside, at his former home, the Smash Mansion, then at his old Master Sword, hanging on the wall. "Might as well send the last memories back."

What made Link become so angry? The newspaper article read: **Ike and Zelda's Wedding, In Only 10 Days**

**In the Smash Mansion**

Zelda hummed a quiet tune as she walked down one of the hallways of the Mansion. Everything was going so well. She enjoyed showing off her new engagement ring. The wedding was the prime of all events, the wonderful man she was going to marry was happy, she was happy. Who wasn't enjoying themselves on this wondrous occasion?

"Zelda! Wait up!" Peach called, running towards her. "What kind of bouquet do you want?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Oh it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" Peach questioned, as if her friend had gone insane. "Don't you realize that this wedding has to be _perfect_? If you can't be decisive, then the wedding won't go well, then you'll be brokenhearted forever, then you'll grow to be an old cranky witch!"

"You take weddings way to seriously. I'll take the rose bouquet than."

"Excellent choice." Peach complimented, taking out a thick notebook, and writing in it.

Zelda was stunned at the fact that Peach would be using a 2 inch-thick notebook to keep all the wedding information. "Is all the wedding information in there?" Zelda asked, dumbfounded.

Peach blushed a bit, as if embarressed. "They didn't have 4 inch notebooks. It's not my fault it's so _small_. I have to write everything a lot smaller to fit all the information in this tiny book."

Zelda simply stared at book. "Well, I'll leave you to your business." She was about to walk away, before Peach grabbed her arm.

"Wait! I have a problem, if you don't mind helping me." Peach said.

"Okay. What do you need?" Zelda asked.

Peach looked around, as if to see if anyone was looking. She whispered "It's about Mario."

"He still won't propose?"

"Yeah! I'm starting to think he's not the marrying type." Peach said, worried. "He's in his mid-twenties, most men get married at that age."

"Trust me, Peach. Mario is far from a 'player,' or whatever you call it." Zelda comforted.

"Yeah... But what if he's just too shy to propose?" Peach asked. Many questions filled her mind.

Zelda thought about it. "He might be. I've seen how he blushes when you give him a kiss on the cheek. If that is the case then why don't you propose to him?"

Peach was appalled by Zelda's question. "A woman? Propose? Everyone knows that the man always proposes to the woman. That happened with you, Marth, and even Olimar!"

"Well, it's either that or you just wait until you grow to become a 'old cranky witch.'" Zelda said mockingly.

Peach sighed. "It'll happen eventually. Thanks. I need to find Sonic so he can get the bouquet."

"Good luck with that." Zelda said polietly. The two princess parted ways. Zelda couldn't help but think that there was someone she had forgotten... what was his name... Luke... Liam... Whoever it was, he wasn't important, right?

**9:50 P.M.**

Link laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He turned to look at where the Master Sword and Zelda's picture once laid. "She's completely out of my life... now what...?" Link thought.

There was no other use for him. Just live a lonely life in a nice house, with nothing to do but remenince about the past. Link let a single tear flow down his cheek. Then another. Then yet another tear. This continued until he just took his pillow, put it over his head, and just flat-out _cried_.

_Never again._ Link promised to himself. _I'll never love again._

**Same time, Smash Mansion**

Zelda was laying in her bed. It was only a few more days until the man of her dreams would be her's. She couldn't help but think that something was out of place, however.

While she was sitting quietly, she heard some knocking on her door. She got up, and opened the door. Sonic was behind it, with a package that was well about the size of him. "Mail delivery."

"Isn't it a bit late?" Zelda questioned the hedgehog.

"Long story." Sonic placed the package on the floor. "This ain't yours." He ran away, and came back in a second, with a package about a quarter of the size of the old one. "This is for you."

Zelda wondered who would need to send her a package this big. "What's in it?"

Sonic shrugged. "Heck if I know. I don't go snoopin' into peoples' mail like Falcon. Well, I gotta get this to Falco. See ya later." Sonic ran off with the larger package.

Zelda brought the package to her bed and pulled out a Sheikiah Knife. She opened up the box, and setting the dagger aside, she pulled out a heavy and familiar sword. "Isn't this the Master Sword from... _Link!_" Zelda finally remembered his name. "Link was the one who owned this sword!"

She looked inside the box, to see if there was anything else. Indeed there was. There was a note in there. She grabbed her dagger and opened it. She read the eeirily familiar handwriting.

**Dear Zelda**

**It's me, Link. It's been a long while since I ever wrote or talked to you. I probably never will again. We grew apart further and further, and now, you've completely pushed me out of your life. You never write or talk, I wasn't even sure if you were still alive.**

**I will probably never be able to see you again. While you'll be living the life you always wanted, I'll be lying on my bed thinking 'Damn... where'd I go wrong?' I'm really sorry for when I hurt you during the concert, but it hurt too much to see you be taken away from me.**

**You see that picture in the box?**

Zelda looked in once more, and noticed a picture of herself. She continued reading.

**I've kept that picture for as long as I remember. It was a permanent reminder of how beautiful you are, but now it was a permanent reminder of how I will never have you. You have my blessings. You'll never see me again.**

**Goodbye, my love.**

**-Link**

Zelda just stared at the letter, reading it over, to see if she was halucinating. Nope. It was real alright. She sighed. "How did I forget the guy that saved me?"

Guilt and sadness overcame the princess. She pushed the box onto the floor, put the dagger on her dresser, and leaned the sword against the wall. She put her picture next to her dagger, and placed the note inside her dresser. Last thing she needs is Peach finding out.

"What am I going to do?" Zelda attempted to relax herself. She fell down onto her bed. "I have to find him... at least to see him." Zelda fell into a restless sleep.

"I'm sorry Link... I really am..."

**Well... that turned out to be a little... whats the word? Ah well. At least I finally updated. Hopefully you guys won't think I'm dead now.**

**Okay, since I'm sure that most of you won't bother looking at my profile, I'm going to tell you the Status of my current stories.**

**Ed or Dare- Discontinued.**

**When Double D loses his hat- Haitus**

**Not-so-epic-Crackfic-adventures- Active**

**The Four Swordsmen- Haitus**

**This Fiction- Active**

**Okay, so you get the picture. ****Criticism would be appreciated.**

**Kthnksbai**


	2. No Need to Quit

**Okay, after updating one of my other stories, starting to work on this hell-of-a-long one, and raging a lot because of the bugs in the Document Manager, I'm finally going to update this story.**

**Chapter 2: No Need to Quit**

**Link's House, 11 P.M.**

Strange...

Link had gone through many sleepless nights before, but not like this. The wedding was starting to haunt him. And still, there were only 9 days until the celebration. Link had gone through sleepless nights in several occasions. The occasional nightmares, wolves howling in the night, and sometimes he just didn't feel like sleeping.

Link sighed. He outside, then at his clock. "11 P.M." He said. He looked outside. Full moon, dark sky. He remembered the old days where he would go against Master Hand's cerfews and rules, sneak out of his room, and just roam around the gigantic forest of a backyard the mansion had. Nostalgia was really starting to catch up to him.

He took a glance outside. The moon was bright, and the town was still up and running. "Why not...?" He dressed into a black shirt, cloak, and pants. He got into his boots and walked out the door, being sure he locked the door. He took a peaceful stroll around town, observing how many of the shops were still open and the abundance of people roaming the town. He wondered how people were able to start shopping and strolling at 6 in the morning, and stop at midnight.

Link pulled his hood up to avoid anyone seeing him. "Din forbid anyone realizing who I am..." He could imagine the staggering amount of people storming his home, demanding answers and autographs. He walked down the street and turned left. After about 3 seconds, he realized that he was walking into a dark ally.

"Better turn back." He mumbled. He turned around, only to be met up with a gang member with a dagger in hand.

"Just where do you think you're going?" He asked darkly. He dressed in a ragged shirt and pants. A dirty, grey cloak protected him from the cold. About 5 more gang members dropped from the sky by rope. 2 more had daggers, 2 had revolvers, and the last one had a aluminum bat. "Give us your money!"

"Hand over the wallet!" The one with the bat shouted.

"I don't have a wallet on me." Link replied, staring at the man who stood before him. "Now let me leave."

One of the gangsters loaded her gun. "Aparently the guy's bluffin'!" She said.

"I'm gonna ask you again." The dagger holding bandit said. "Give. Us. Your. Cash."

"I. Don't. Have. Any." Link said in the same serious tone.

One man with the dagger growled. "I don't care if this guy is broke or whatever, I just want to kill somethin'! _Now_."

"I... don't care whatevar you alls saids..." The third dagger-wielding bandit said, obviously intoxicated. "I'm justa... gonna kill this bas-"

He was interrupted, when Link had punched him in the chest, sending him spiraling into the wall. When he got hit, he let his dagger fly into the air. Link caught the weapon and faced the other gangsters. "You picked the wrong guy to mug." He growled darkly.

"Get 'em!" The female gangster said, aiming for the Hylian with her gun. She let a shot fire, only for it to miss and hit the brick wall. Link sidestepped an attack from the first dagger-wielding foe. Link used his own dagger to knock the foe's weapon out of his hand. He followed with a kick to his assailant's stomach, pushing him backwards and to the floor. He threw the dagger towards another direction, stabbing the last dagger using foe's cloak, and pinning him to the wall.

The blonde hero jumped into the air, and came back kicking the gunman in the face, knocking him to the floor. Immediately after, he kicked the female gangster in the face and followed up with a punch to the stomach. Quickly, he ran up to the gangster who was using the bat, who had finally unpinned himself, grabbed him, and force him to the ground.

Link looked at the 6 knocked out gang members. All out within 30 seconds and not a single scratch.

"I still got it." He said to himself. Since he was banned from the mansion, he never did get an adrenaline rush like he did just now. He loved the feeling of being in battle, fighting against someone, and the danger of it all.

He noticed an insignia on the cloaks of the fallen enemies. The emblem was two revolvers that crossed each other, with smoke coming out from the ends of them both.

In the corner of his eye, he noticed the male gunman get up. Before he could do anything, Link dashed up to him, grabbed the man by his shirt, and raised him against the wall. "Who are you? Who do you work for?"

The man was scared of the strange man who just defeated his party. "I won't tell you!"

Link stared the defenseless man, and grabbed a dagger from the ground. "Tell me. _Now_."

"Okay, okay!" The man said, sweating. "I work for a street gang called the 'Shadow Guns.' It's run by a man named 'Henry Falilcane.' We attack and mug people, simple as that. Strike fear into peoples' hearts, steal their money, kill anyone on sight."

Link glared at the man. "People like you make me sick." He slammed the man against the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Right as he did that, 2 police men came into the ally, guns drawn. "Freeze!"

Link put his hands into the air. "Officers-"

"Oh, not you." The shorter one said. "Those bandits are notorious for attacking anyone, from the poorest man, to the wealthiest ones. I can recognize their insignias."

"I'm surprised you took 'em all out." The other officer said. "What's your name?"

"Luke Hero." Link lied.

"Well, good thing you didn't die." The first police man said. "We'll need to take these men to the jail. They have some explaining to do. Also, do you mind coming over at about 5 P.M. tomorrow? These criminals are dangerous, and we need all the information we can get."

Link nodded. "Of course."

The policemen dragged the criminals into their car. "You need a ride home?" The short one asked.

"No. I can walk." Link said politely. "Thank you."

After the police drove off, Link started his trek back home. A petty street gang going around robbing people? People getting shot and mugged? And even the police were having trouble with them. Perhaps they needed help? He took the rest of his walk in silence. When he did get to his house, he went back into his room and laid down in his bed. Link smirked as he closed his eyes.

Looks like the Hero of Time isn't going to retire for a while...

**Next Day Smash Mansion, 3 P.M.**

After most of the day went by, Zelda claimed she wanted to take a walk around Smashville. Her fiance, Ike, offered to tag along, but she had said that she needed a little time alone. Luckily for the smashers, the tournament was over, and they wouldn't have to worry for another 2 weeks. So they were allowed to do as they please; although Master Hand warned everyone not to blow anything up. Master Hand also warned everyone about a gang going around, attacking people. The smashers paid little attention, as they believed they could take street bandits.

Zelda quietly walked through the busy streets. Many people were out. She noticed people conversing amongst each other or laughing. As she passed a electronics store, the news on the TVs they had on display had caught her attention.

**"Last night, a man by the name of 'Luke Hero' was attacked by the Shadow Guns. While the man suffered no injuries, he had managed to overpower the 6 bandits that have tried to mug him. They were reported to be carrying daggers and revolvers. Police arrived not much later and arrested the men. Hero is scheduled to come to the Smashville Police Station to reveal information on these bandits at 5 P.M. More details later. In other news, local-"**

Zelda did not listen to the rest of the news. "How would one person be able to defeat 6 bandits with guns and knives without a single scratch?"

Zelda had some skeptical thoughts. So why not just ask the man himself how he was able to defeat 6 bandits at once? With her mind made up, she headed to the police station. Ike would forgive her. He knew Zelda had a natural curiosity, so he knew what to expect for letting Zelda go off on her own.

"Okay Mr. Hero." She said to herself. "Let's just _see_ who you are."

**Smashville Police Station 5 P.M.**

Zelda sighed. After explaining herself to the police guards, she sat in the waiting room for 2 hours, waiting for Luke to come by. After another 5 minuets, the door had opened. Luke/Link came in, dressed in a black cloak, pants, and shirt. His hood was over his head, covering his entire face. The cold season was starting to take place, so the sun started to set; explaining why Link had come with a cloak.

Zelda looked at the man who just walked in. "Is this Hero?"

Link walked by the smasher without noticing who she was. The police guard noticed the man instantly.

"Good evening, Hero. Please, step into my office." Link nodded, as he stepped into a door with the officer.

Zelda silently cursed. "Missed my chance. I'll just have to wait for him again."

Another 10 minutes passed. Link came out of the door and was heading towards the exit. Not wanting to lose the man again, Zelda got up and tapped the man's shoulder. "Excuse me sir?"

"Yes?" He asked, stopping. He did not turn to Zelda, but instead just kept facing the door.

"Your name is 'Luke,' correct?"

Link nodded. "And if I'm not mistaken, you must be the smasher, Zelda. I've seen you in the tournaments. Your name is all over the newspapers."

"So is yours." Zelda replied. "I wanted to ask you how you were able to overcome an entire gang of bandits?" She couldn't recognize the voice as Link's, not hearing is voice in such a long time. However, Link instantly realized who he was talking to. He tried to act unsurprised and casual. He did not want to reveal himself.

_"How the hell did she find me?" _Link thought. He removed the return address on the letter. How was she able to find him so quickly? Out-loud, he said, "I simply defeated them. I must leave now." He tried to walk away, but Zelda grabbed his arm.

"You're not going anywhere." She said. "I just want to know how you were able to overcome a half-dozen street criminals?"

Link sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll tell you. But can we at least leave first? People are staring."

Zelda's face turned a little red when she realized how many people were staring at her. The moment the two stepped out of the door, Zelda resumed her questioning. "Well, how did you defeat six gang members?"

"I was walking around town at around 11 in the evening, and I walked into a dark ally by accident. I tried getting out, but then these guys cornered me. They wanted my money, but I told them I didn't have any. So after a bit of threats, a drunk one tried to stab me. I hit him before the knife actually made contact. The other guys attacked me as well, but I took them all out. After the brawl, I started questioning them. One said they were the 'Shadow Guns,' and that they were lead by some savage named 'Henry Falilcane.' The police came and arrested them all, and made me come to them so I could answer a few questions they had."

"But how were you able to defeat a half-dozen bandits with guns and knives without a scratch?" Zelda interrogated.

Link couldn't reveal that he used to be a Smasher; at least not to Zelda. He just wanted to live his life anew again, and hanging onto his first love and his former career was not a good way to start. "I used to..." He tried thinking of an excuse. "Be a... boxer."

"A _boxer_?" Zelda questioned.

"Retired boxer." Link claimed. "I retired some time ago, but I guess I still have that fighting spirit still in me."

"Okay..." Zelda said, unsure that he was telling the truth. "I guess that explains everything."

"I hope so. I must go now." Link said. "Pleasure to meet you, Zelda. Take care." He left without another word.

"Yeah... You take care, 'Hero.'" Zelda quietly said to herself.

The man's voice sounded familiar, but why? She couldn't see the man's face at all, nor any physical features, so she couldn't really assume who he was.

Too many thoughts scrambled through her head. She started to head back to the mansion. Ike must have been worried.

Unknown to either of the Hylians, a dark-clothed man was eavesdropping in the crowd.

**Link's House, 6 P.M.**

"How the hell did she find me?" Link yelled angrily at himself. "I just want to start a new life; a new beginning, and I can't even escape the one I love." With a angry sigh, he sat down on his bed. "Wish I didn't have such a hot temper. I feel like an idiot, even years after I got banned from the mansion."

Link laid down on his bed, and looked around. The house seemed much more emptier, now that all of the things that reminded him of his old career were gone. Just a small kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and a living area. The bedroom was small, but was able to fit a queen sized bed, which came along with the house.

"I got to stop living in the past." Link finally said to himself. "Gotta start a new beginning."

Even though he tried telling himself that everything was behind him, he wasn't sure if he could let go of all the friends he had, the fighting spirit, and the woman he fell in love with. Still, what's done, had been done. No sense in trying to change it. Could might as well try to make the present better.

Perhaps, he could still be a hero? Those bandits are still running amok, and the police can't really stop them any faster.

Link rose and proceeded to put on his cloak and boots. He grabbed his wallet and checked to see how much money was in it. He was going to buy a sword and put an end to this Shadow Guns crisis. "No need to quit fighting yet..."

**I wasn't really gonna put any action in this story, but I just can't stand just writing the romance (How does everyone else do it?). So anywho, not much going on. Next chapter will be up within a week or so. Thank you for your time!**


	3. The Saharan Spy

**HA! See? This story isn't dead! Just... delayed... a lot... :P**

**Chapter 3: The Saharan Spy**

**Secret Lair, 6:05 P.M.**

"Falilcane! Falilicane!" A black-robed man said, running past several bandits. The Secret Lair was called "The Shadow Cove," and was the Headquarters of the Shadow Guns. They had sentries and agents everywhere in the city. One happened to be watching Link and Zelda conversing, and had returned to the commander of the Shadow Guns Operations; Henry Falilcane.

The robed man walked up to his superior. Like many of the bandits, he had a black cloak. He was equipped with dual daggers, and his cloak had the Shadow Guns Insignia on the back. His body guards were both equipped with AK-47s, making one wonder where they had set up operations before.

"What is it?" Henry asked.

"Sir, the man who had defeated our small party yesterday was seen today. I later followed him to his home, and he's going to buy a sword. We must ambush him now if we are to eliminate this threat."

"Very well. Send in our Elite Party to silence this fool." Henry said.

The bandit nodded as he bowed and left.

"Luke Hero..." Henry said quietly. "You have picked the wrong guild to fight..."

**Weapon smith, 6:15 P.M.**

Link smiled as he stepped out the shop with his new, iron sword. "I finally have a new sword. I better find a way to find these bandits."

He sheathed his sword and started his trek home. It was quite dark, but it did not bother him. He was quite atoned to nighttime ever since that "Twilight Princess" incident.

On his way home, all he could think about was how he could get more intelligence on these bandits. Perhaps interrogate people they have mugged. Or try and find their headquarters in the city. If all fails, he could just let them capture him and sabotage them from the in-side-out.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knife being unsheathed. Even though there many people out, he could hear the knife, most likely because of his giant ears. He quickened his pace. He knew that even if there were bandits around, if he gave out his position it would be the end of him.

He soon escaped the hustle and bustle of the city. Only a few more blocks until he would reach his house. Link looked around and saw no one. He assured that his hood was tightened, and continued his merry way. Again, he heard a knife unsheathed. But this time, he also head a gun being loaded.

He quickly drew his sword and faced behind him, but no one was there. "Whoever you are, show yourself!" He commanded. Obviously, no one dared to come out. Link checked his surroundings, and continued his walk. He knew what would happen. He silently counted down in his head.

_5... 4... 3... 2..._

As soon as he counted down to "1," he turned around and met a bandit with his fist. The bandit flinched as he stumbled backwards. He regained his consciousness as he gestured his partners. 5 more bandits surrounded Link. They all had black and red robes and red capes with the Shadow Guns emblem on them. One, however, had instead a red suit and a cigarette in his mouth. He had a black ski mask on, and a red Fez and sunglasses on.

"Well, well, well." The formally dressed bandit said. He had a distinct, French accent. "It seems we have a challenge for once. Before we begin ze bloodshed, let me introduce myself. I am known as "Ze Saharan Spy," leader of the elite squadron of the Shadow Guns, known as the "Blood Forgers." We have been sent to exterminate you."

"Don't frickin' tell him dat!" One bandit said irritably. He had a wooden bat in his hand. He looked only about 17 years of age. "I know it's like da law er somethin' to tell people ya evil plans, but COME ON! This guy took out 5 frickin' soldiers the other day, don't ya think he might beat us? He's got a sword for God's sake!"

"Silence." The Saharan Spy said. "Someone should cut your tongue off."

Another bandit, who had a shotgun in his hands, snickered. "I'd second that."

"You want me to do it?" A bandit with a large knife asked. "I got this Rambo knife right here!" He laughed.

The bandit that Link hit earlier, groaned. "My face hurts."

"SILENCE!" The Spy commanded again. His team fell silent. "Now, I would love to carry zis conversation on, but Henry Falilcane wants your head. On a silver platter."

Link drew his sword. "Come at me, you wretches!"

The Saharan Spy suddenly disappeared with a glance at his golden watch. The other 5 bandits readied their weapons. The bandit with the shotgun fired his gun. Link jumped to avoid the gunfire, but 2 bullets managed to hit his right leg. He fell back to the ground in pain, but got back into his fighting stance.

"Take this knuckle-head!" The jittery bandit said, throwing a baseball at Link with deadly accuracy. Link could not react in time and was nailed in his face. "Bam! I betcha you got a nice look at that!" He taunted.

Link fell to his knee, dazed. His vision was blurred and he swore he could taste blood. But not the time for lingering on his pain. Now was the time for fighting. Link quickly leaped out of the way of another attack. He swung his sword forward, barely missing the knife-wielding bandit.

"I have to disarm that gun using mobster." Link said to himself, seeing the shotgunner reloading his gun. As quickly as he could, he rushed up to him, kicked him in his stomach, and sliced his gun into 2.

"Why you little..." He said in an angry tone. He pulled his hand back, ready to punch Link. However, he gasped as he looked down, to see that Link had stabbed him in his stomach. He lifelessly fell to the ground as Link pulled his sword out.

_Note to self, clean sword._ Link thought.

"Oh God, he killed Ivan!" The young bandit said in fear.

"No kidding, Sherlock." Another bandit said. He pulled back his sledgehammer, read to smash Link's head in.

Link rolled out of the way, which was quite painful, considering there were 2 bullets in his right leg. He quickly grabbed a piece of the shotgun he broke, and threw it against the hammer bandit's head. If he learned anything from the Super Smash Tournaments, was that ANYTHING could be used as a lethal weapon. He learned that lesson after Samus defeated him in one tournament by throwing a broken piece of her armor at him.

The bandit was hit in the groin. After squealing painfully, he fell to the ground in shame, humiliation, and sheer manhood-pain.

2 down, 3 to go. Link rushed up to the bandit with the large knife, and quickly disarmed him. He followed up by hitting him with his sword hilt, and elbowing him in his stomach. A bandit with a broken bottle swung his weapon. "I may be drunk, but I can still fight like a- AHHHHHH!" Too late, as Link had took his sword and slashed the bandit's chest 3 times, causing him to fall and die. Link turned his head towards the last bandit.

The young bandit's face was full of fear and despair. "P-P-please don't murder me! I d-don't wanna dieeee!" He pleaded. He curled up into a ball, hugging his legs.

"You're pathetic." Link spat. "I'll spare your life now, but if we ever cross paths, it will not be the same outcome."

"Oh God! Thank you thank you thank you!" The teenager said.

Link raised his eyebrow. "You're not like these other bandits, are you?"

"Phhfft..." The bandit said, standing back up. "Please... I was abandonned when I was a child. These bozoes took me in, so what otha choice did I have? I just want ta live as somethin' other than a thief. Crook. Two-timin-scum-sucking-back-stabbing-scumbag." The bandit paused. "Hey, tongue twister! 'two-timin-scum-sucking-back-stabbing-scumbag!' 'Two-schiming-scum-scucking-bank-scabbing-sctumgag!'"

Link studied the teenager's features. An thin face, brown eyes, slightly tanned skin... "Hey, what's your name again?"

"Da name's 'Jake.'" He said. "Although you were about ta kill me, I like ya. Whats yer name?"

"Luke." Link replied. Realizing that Jake is in an elite position of the Shadow Guns, he might have information on them. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. But not now. Looks like da boss is back." Jake said.

Link turned around to see the Saharan Spy from before, clapping slowly. "Well done, Luke... Well done... I've expected you to defeat our squadron."

"You set me up?" Jake yelled with boiling anger.

"But of course. You didn't _really _think you had any real skill, did you?" The Spy said without remourse.

"I outta kill ya right now!" Jake rushed up at devastating fast speed, and smashed the Saharan Spy's head in, killing him instantly. "Bam!"

However, a loud, electric noise went off, and the Saharan Spy reappeared at a far ally. "This is not the end! The Shadow Guns will never stop hounding you!" He ran off into the night.

Jake raised his fist up angrily. "Great! Now I got no place ta go!" He angrily kicked a can away.

Link walked up to the angry teenager. "Would you like to stay over at my place?" He asked.

"Really? Sweet! Thanks man! I owe you big time!" Jake said, spirit lifted.

Link took the opportunity to ask him for information. "Well, actually, I do have something in mind. Do you have any information on this bandit guild?"

"Hell yeah!" Jake replied. "All sorts of stuff. Their weaponry, their tactics, their favorite foods, everythin'! Why?"

Link started walking. "It would be best if we get back to my home."

"Yeah... that'd sound good right there." Jake replied. "But what about the bodies?"

"They have the Shadow Guns capes on. The cops know that they don't have to go looking for the killers if they are part of that guild." Link replied. "Also, lose the accent."

"Accent? What frickin' accent?" Jake asked ignorantly, as he took off his own cape and tore it to pieces. The two started their trek back home.

**The Next Day, Smash Mansion 11:00 A.M.**

Zelda curiously walked into Ike's room. Ike had to go back to his homeland for the week, much to Zelda's dismay. However, he promised that he would come back 2 days before the wedding. Ike lived in his room alone. Before he had shared his room with Link, who had been banned.

Like any other room, there were 2 beds and plenty of space for each person to put their belongings. One half of the room was colored red, while the other half was green. The green side of the room was completely empty, minus the hardwood drawer, while Ike's side had many pictures and relics from his home, and several more pictures of him and Zelda.

She walked towards Link's former side of the room. She looked around, making sure no one was around, and opened up Link's former drawer. Perhaps he had left something that would give her a clue on where Link had gone.

"Nothing... nothing... nothing... one of his earrings... What's this?" She picked up a small book with nothing labled on it. "Link has a diary?" She opened it up, with several things jolted down.

**October 5th, 2008**

**Recent rumors of the Shadow Guns are starting to spread panic in the Smashville civilians. Master Hand said that we shouldn't be interfering with this, but I think otherwise. I've gathered up a few up fellow smashers: Mario, Meta Knight, Pit, and Snake. Pit suggested that I bring Ike, claiming his 'firepower' would prove useful. I strongly went against it. My roommate is not my friend, nor would I even greet him with a 'hello.' Zelda's been falling for him, I could tell. I would _love _to punch that swordsman in his face, but he's not my enemy right now. I must first deal with these mythical Shadow Guns.**

**As for our party, we heard commotion of these bandits from the citizens, but we never fought any that night. We had to abort when Crazy Hand started to stab a hot dog with a sword made entirely out of bells and whistles. That would have given us away, had we been near him. Crazy Hand's... craziness continues to boggle me.**

Zelda raised her eyebrows. "Back then, the Shadow Guns were just rumors... Link was investigating them under everyones' noses." She had already (sort-of) figured out that Link had loved her, mainly because of letter he had sent her with the sword. She turned the page.

**October 10th, 2008**

**Damn it all! That idiot Ike asked Zelda out yesterday for a nighttime walk. Despite my own morals, I followed them stealthily. Well, stealthily until I stepped on a rubber duck that Crazy Hand had littered around the lake. I've never seen Zelda's face that red in anger and annoyance in my life. As for Ike, well, he locked me out of my room afterwards. After that day, I was wondering 2 things: 1: Have I really lost Zelda? And 2: Why the hell did Crazy Hand throw rubber ducks around a pool at 11 P.M.?**

"Oh right..." Zelda remembered, her face turning slightly red. Nervously, she turned the page.

**October**** 25th, 2008**

**Well, that's it. I've lost. Game over. Ike has Zelda, and I don't. I caught them kissing. To top it off, it turns out that Master Hand found out that I snuck out 3 weeks ago. After cleaning up the Final Destination, repairing the mechanics in the Alloys, and giving Crazy Hand a bath, I confronted Zelda, and she flung me out of her room. I've lost any chance of getting together with Zelda. Well, at least it wasn't a total loss that day.**

**To take my mind off of _them_, I took a walk around the city. Some people were talking about the Shadow Guns. I evasdropped on one of their conversations, and perhaps this bandit Guild is real. But for now, it's been a _very, very _long, painful day for me. Dammit Ike, I _will_ have my way, one way or another.**

Zelda's eyes looked down shamefully. While she would have never hurt Link directly, she apparently must have half-killed him indirectly. "He must have really loved me..." She said quietly.

She knew that she couldn't just sit in Ike's room for the whole day, so she used Farore's Wind and teleported to her room with Link's Journal. She placed the book carefully into her drawer, which was filled with several other books from Hyrule. "I'll take a look at you, later." Perhaps she could possibly find a few more things out about Link, maybe even where he had gone to.

**The End...**

**... of chapter 3. Anyway, long-time-no-read. 3 things. 1: Cookie to anyone who guesses who I based the "Saharan Spy" off of. 2: Another Cookie to anyone who can guess what 1 + 1 is an extremely profound way. 3: No more cookies!**

**... okay, fine. The real number 3: This fiction won't be updated often, but I promise you all that I'll continue it. I'm more of a humor author, so this isn't exactly my cup of tea. *holds up a... cup of tea that says "HUMOR" on the side* Anyways, I'll see you all later. Critisicisisism is appreciated. Telling me that I spelt "Critisicisisism" wrong is NOT appreciated. So, tune in, and (possibly within 2 months) find out what happens next in "Remember Me?"**


	4. Murder in Daylight

**Well, after many months of author's block, schoolwork, and painful final exams, I am (attempting) to continue this story. I shall not let this story die! I may let it go into commas, but it will NOT die!**

**Random OC: That's "coma"**

***blasts said OC with a rocket launcher***

**So, here it is, chapter numero 4 of "Remember Me?"**

**WARNING: Gory scene and character death up ahead, mate! D:**

**Chapter 4: Murder in Daylight**

"I'll be out for a while." Link/Luke said, grabbing his cloak. Jake had become aquainted in his new home, despite only being there for the past 12 hours.

"Mmmkay." Jake said, idly twirling his bat around as he laid in bed. "I'll try not to break anything."

"I hope I can trust you on that." Link opened up the door and walked out. He quickly donned his large cloak, and assured that his hood was covering his face. He walked down the path. Now that it was daytime, the Shadow Guns obviously wouldn't attack him in broad daylight.

He hummed a tune as he made his way towards town. While he wasn't busy (which happened often before recent events), he would disguise himself as a commoner and simply do whatever he felt like. But one of his favorite passtimes, was giving advice to strangers. More often than not, they would take the advice and be on their way. Others, would turn on him; although there was no one who could take more than 6 of Link's punches without gettings knocked out. Normally, it would only take 3, but a few years of inactivity does that to you.

Link continued his walk, with his cloak covering everything except for his lower-face and boots. He thought about the situation at hand: the Shadow Guns' recent spike in activity. Why would they be suddenly attacking the people so brutally after many years of inactivity?

As Link walked, he accidentally bumped into a short, plump man. He didn't realize who it was and tried to walk past him. "Sorry."

"Watch where your-a goin'!" A very familiar voice said, obviously annoyed.

Link's eyes widened. _Mario? _He thought. Other than Zelda, he hadn't seen another smasher in quite a while. Like before, the disguised hero kept his cool and tried to pretend that he had never met Mario. "You seem to be a bit distraught."

"What's it to-a you?" Mario asked, turning to face the man.

_Strange._ Link noticed. _Mario was NEVER this moody before. Something's obviously wrong._ "I think you need somebody to talk to. Care to take a walk with me?"

Mario's expression lightened up a bit has he unballed his fists. "Thanks..." He said. "I guess I'm just-a bit nervous."

_Nervous? That's be last word he'd use to describe himself. _Link said to himself. "Really? About what?"

"I'd rather not talk about it..." Mario replied. "It's private."

Link nodded. "That's fine with me. What's a superstar such as yourself doing out here anyway?"

"Ehh, Master Hand's trying to make everyone take precautions, with the whole Shadow Gun activity and all." Mario replied casually. "You know, 4 more deaths have been reported-"

Link interrupted. "What? When?"

"Yesterday... But, those casulaties were for the Shadow Guns..." Mario was started to become suspicious. "Why would you need to know something like that...?"

Link sighed. Zelda already know about his actions being against the Shadow Guns. He'd be a fool to asume that Zelda hadn't told Ike this. So what'd harm would it do if _one _more smasher knew about his acts?

"Okay," Link said, raising his hands slightly, as if surrendering. "You caught me. I'm on their hitlist."

"Wait... what?" Mario asked, slightly confused.

"I killed a few of their troops a few days ago," Link replied. "They sent a group to assassinate me afterwards, so I'm trying to play my part in trying to stop them."

"Oh." Mario said. "Well killing aside, whatelse do you do?"

Link sighed. "Not much really. I live in a small home with not many acquaintances, so it gets very dull quite often. Usually, I'll just think..."

Mario was starting to develop an interest in this strangly familiar-sounding man. "About?"

"My homelands... What I've done in my life... A woman I loved..." Link said, closing his eyes.

"Err..." Mario said sheepishly. "Can we stay away from that 'L' word?"

A blind man would have seen that Link had just hit a sore spot. But being Link, he was determinded to find out what was bugging Mario. "And why is that?"

"..." Mario sighed. "Its a bit personal..."

"I just revealed to you what I do in my spare time and the fact I'm probably number 1 on a terrorism-related gang's hitlist." Link said bluntly. "Frankly, I think it'd be time for YOU to explain yourself a bit."

Finding it hard to argue with logic like that, Mario finally opened up. "Fine... I have a girlfriend, and I love her very much... but, I can't find the ability to propose to her..."

Link nodded. "You mean you are too shy to propose?"

Mario nodded.

Link sighed. "You know, that's quite similar how I lost my love. I was too shy. Too hesitant. Eventually, she found someone else, and I was left alone."

The plumber shifted in his shoes. "So... what are you saying?"

"Go ahead and do it. Ask her." Link said simply. "If you let it be as it is, it'll only be a matter of time until she loses interest."

Mario nodded. "It's settled then. I'mma gonna ask her to marry me!"

Link silently nodded. "Glad I could help."

A couple minutes later, Link started his trek home. Out of everything, he never would have expected being a love doctor. He would have bet that a giant squid would have destroyed half of Smashville before considering that.

Link's day, however, was about to go from good, to horrifying.

He noticed his house's windows had been broken, and that the door was torn right off its hindges. His eyes widened and fear struck his heart. As quickly as he could, he dashed up to (what used to be) the door, and walked in. Furniture was smashed, the floor had been cracked, and blood stains were all over the area. The power had been shut down, so there was no light.

Eerily, there was no noise. Link cautiously walked to the bedroom. A lump was in his bed, covered by the sheets. Link uncovered the lump, to see a brutally murdered Jake. Blood ran down his face, knives were deep in his back, and his right arm had been cut off. Bruises and cuts were all over his body, and a large puddle of blood decorated the floor.

Link was taken aback by the harsh display. He sighed heavily. "May Farore guide you to the next world, friend." He prayed. The Hylian noticed a note, next to the body. Link picked it up, and read it.

_**To the Bastard Who Lives Here**_

_**You have struck a blow against the Shadow Guns. A small one, but a blow all the same. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth as we say. Your home has been demolished, and your allies slain. You have done a horrendous act against us, and we do not take it lightly. Our vengeance is not yet over, whelp. Expect another delivery of cruel, unyielding payback.**_

_**The Shadow Guns**_

Link realized that he would be next. He quickly grabbed his sword and sheath, which had been mysteriously untouched. He rushed out of the door, his destination unclear. "I'm going to need help..." He said silently. "And I'm not going to like where I'm going to get it from..."

Link was on his way to the Smash Mansion once more.

**Smash Mansion**

"He proposed! He proposed!" Peach squealed in delight. She rushed as quickly as she could, which was quite fast despite her high-heels, wanting to share the news with Zelda. Nearby Smashers watched in confusion as Peach ran at speeds that could rival Sonic. As soon as she got into her room, she yelled, "Wake up!"

Zelda shot awake instantly, almost falling out of her bed. "Ahh! What is it? Did Wario burn the mansion down again?" That was not a good Halloween, as Zelda distinctly recalled.

"Nope! I'm getting married!" Peach exclaimed.

Had Zelda been drinking something, she would have spat it out like a fire hose. "What?"

"I know! Isn't it amazing?"

"Wait..." Zelda said, not yet quite grasping what had just been heard in the past 10 seconds. "So, Mario finally proposed?"

"Yes!" Peach squealed.

Before they could carry the conversation on any further, Master Hand barged into the room. "Zelda, get dressed. Someone is here to see you."

"Who?" Zelda questioned.

"You'll know him when you see him..." Master Hand replied. "Now hurry up. He said its an emergency."

Zelda hopped out of her bed and nodded. "Very well sir."

**10 minutes later**

Zelda walked in her usual princess-like way as she headed down to the lobby. Who would be coming to visit her at a time like this? She had made her way down to the first floor and near-immediately spotted a blond-headed man.

The man had sat down, a look of desperation on his face. No other Smasher would dare go near him. He looked around, as if searching for someone. Finally he noticed Zelda coming down. He beckoned her to follow, refusing to let the hood of his cloak lift up over his face.

Zelda followed the stranger cautiously, considering he had an iron sword with him. "Who are you?" She questioned.

No response. The stranger simply continued to walk to a private room silently. He noticed that Zelda had stopped following. Again, he urged her to follow.

Once the two had made their way to the room, they entered. Only a table and a few chairs populated the small room.

"Okay, who are you, and why are you here?" Zelda interrogated. She was starting to become inpatient with the mystery man.

The cloaked figure lifted his hood, and many answers were suddenly answered.

"Nice to see you again... Zelda." He said simply.

"Link?"

**Cliffhangers and death and stabbing and princesses and marriages oh my! What is going on here? Really, tell me. I'm stumped.**

**Anywho, I finally continued this story, to prove that it indeed, is not dead! :D**

**Audience: *clap clap clap***

**Well, off to do other... _activities _that have come to my attention... Thanks for reading this, somewhat horror-based chapter.**


	5. Conversation

**Wow, another chapter already? I must be getting better at this.**

**Falco: Uhh, no you're not.**

***arms grenade launcher* 3 second head start, bird.**

**Falco: GAHH! *flies away***

**Chapter 5: Conversation**

Zelda only stared at her former-friend. "Is... that really you?"

The other Hylian nodded. "Yes, but I do not come for a friendly visit."

Zelda raised her eyebrow questionably. "You didn't come for me?"

"I'd be lying if I said that seeing you hadn't effected my decision to come here." Link replied honestly. "But I have much bigger problems."

Strangly, Zelda felt a bit put down when Link had said he hadn't completely returned for her. "Umm... okay."

"This Shadow Guns crisis is getting out of hand." Link started. "They've made 3 attempts on my life already, destroyed my home, and slew my friends."

"So," Zelda interrutped. "You want to stay here?"

"Yes and no. I'm going to need assistance for fighting against this gang. None of the other Smashers trust me after what I did two years ago to you." Link continued. "I'm asking that you try to change their minds."

"I cannot so easily forgive you," Zelda noted. "Time may cause things to deteriorate, but I do not forget easily."

Link nodded. "I know. I'm sorry for trying to get in between you and Ike. I accept that you two will be married, and I respect that."

"Wait, so you're saying you're over me?"

Link turned a bit red. "Uhh... not _exactly _but-"

Zelda let out a small chuckle. "Well, I guess I could say something to them."

"Great." Link replied. "Also, I need something else."

"What would that be?" Zelda asked.

"I need the Master Sword back." The other Hylian answered.

Zelda nodded. "Of course." She got out of her chair and proceeded to walk out of the room. Link followed behind, bracing himself in case anyone tried to throw blunt objects at him.

An awkward silence dawned over the normally-noisy lobby as the two Hylians walked by. Several smashers pointed and silently mocked Link, while others conversed quietly on what the two were talking about.

"I feel very out of place." Link whispered, as the two walked up the stairs.

The princess sighed. "They're just... not used to you yet..."

"Well, they won't have to put up with me long." Link replied.

Zelda nodded. _Link has really changed since I last saw him._ She thought. _Although, I see his heroic attitude still hasn't changed, thankfully._

Zelda stopped. "Here we are." She said, opening up her room. Inside, Peach was reading a book. "Hello."

Peach instantly threw the book behind her back and backwards, letting it land under Zelda's drawer. "Don't you knock?"

"Wait... What were you reading?" Zelda questioned.

"Nothing." Peach said flatly. She noticed Link, and her attitude suddenly became bitter. "Why is _he _here?"

"Well, that was the most polite greeting I got in the past 20 minutes." Link joked unhumorously.

"Peach, he needs help." Zelda replied. "He has to-"

"Yeah, he needs some help alright! Some professional help!" Peach spat.

Link stepped into the conversation. "I'm not here to pick a fight."

"You're not welcome here. You know it, and so does everyone else." Peach walked out of the way, shoving Link away.

Zelda buried her face into her hand. "I'm so sorry about that." She said.

Link sighed. "I'll be honest, sometimes I wonder why I even bother."

"Don't say that," Zelda said, a frown appearing on her face. "I don't like seeing you so down."

A small, friendly smile walked onto Link's face. "Thank you..."

The two Hylians locked eyes for a moment, oblivious to the world around them. Being away from one another so long hadn't changed Link's feelings for Zelda, but might have changed her's about him. The two slowly leaned in...

Link suddenly realized what the two were just about to do. He immediately pulled back and faked a cough. "Ahem, well... My sword?"

Zelda regained her posture, turning a bit red. "Um, yes! Of course..."

The same thought went through both of their minds: _Why the hell did I just do that?_

Zelda walked up to her closet, and pulled out a heavy box. "Here you go."

Link opened up the box, and there lay his sword, still as shiny and polished as the day he pulled it from the ground. Inside, was also his shield. The decorative design of it kept its shine and color. "I appreciate it."

"You're very welcome." Zelda replied.

"By the way," Link asked. "Where's Ike? I didn't see him downstairs, and I highly doubt he would have forgotten that 'incident.'"

"He's back at his homelands for the week." Zelda replied. "He'll come back in time for the wedding."

Link nodded. "I see. I hope I don't meet up with him. Becoming a red mess on the wall isn't fun, from what I've heard."

"Umm, you said your house was demolished, correct?" Zelda questioned.

"Not exactly 'demolished.' The windows are smashed, the door was destroyed, blood is all over the floor, and there is a dead body in my bed, but at least the house had yet to come down." Link replied casually.

Zelda winced a bit at the dead body part. "Well, why don't you just stay here?"

Link was actually planning to possibly get a motel room. Facing the smashers would be too hard, considering they still hate him. "I can't. Everyone else will try to kill me."

"Oh come on, not _all_ of them will hate you."

"Fox threw a Bob-omb at me when I walked in, what do you call that?"

"... Okay," Zelda sighed. "Look, just try to stay out of trouble. I'll tell Master Hand to give you a room."

"Zelda, please-"

"You have nowhere else to go. Just let me help you." Zelda interrupted. She started to walk out, leaving Link alone in her room.

As she headed down to Master Hand's office, the near-kiss with Link constantly played in her head like a broken record. She couldn't fathom how or why she tried to kiss him while she was a soon-to-be married woman.

"No," Zelda said to herself. "Link is just a friend, that's it."

Before long, the princess had reached Master Hand's office. Right outside, were a couple of large, metal shields. Right above them, was a sign that read:

"Please equip a shield before you enter the office for protection against Crazy Hand's pets. Please be aware he has Fire Lions, Pirhanna Plants, and several Oktoroks. Caution is advised in the entering of this room. If Crazy Hand attempts to force you to wear a hat, run away immediately screaming 'Its not Haturday.'"

Zelda raised an eyebrow, and grabbed a shield. "I'm going in..."

**20 minutes later**

Zelda panted and sweated as she slammed the door behind her. Fiery paws, large fins, and several tentacles got closed on by the door. Either Crazy Hand had opened up a private zoo, or he was hell-bent on taking over the world with mini-bosses and enemies of all of the Smashers' worlds. Most likely both.

Zelda was covered in bruises, burns, and cuts, part of her hair also singed off. Her dress was teared around the bottom, with plenty of stains, tears, and bulletholes in it. For some reason, she was also wearing a sombrero.

Master Hand would have raised an eyebrow, if he had one. "Umm... I apologize for Crazy Hand's... craziness...

"Those Grand Wheelies are crazy." Zelda complained, dusting herself off and taking off her hat. After regaining (what was left) of her composure, she began to bargain. "I come here because Link needs a room."

"To stay in?"

"No, to blow up; yes to stay in." Zelda said sarcastically.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Master Hand said. "Link has been banned from this mansion, you know that."

Zelda pouted. "But he's not here as a Smasher though. Isn't there a way for him to get a room?"

"No." Master Hand responded.

Zelda groaned. Then, an idea hit her. "Some of the other Smashers bring guests over, right or wrong?"

Master Hand paused for a while, then replied with "right".

"And, these guests are allowed to stay in the mansion freely for a maximum of 7 days, right or wrong?"

Master Hand groaned himself. "Yes..."

"Now," Zelda bargained. "If I were to bring Link here as a 'guest,' he would be allowed to stay here."

Master Hand moved himself up and down, signifying a nod. "Fine. Link will have to stay in the guest room, however. He will not be able to participate in the tournaments and he is strictly off limits from the item shed."

Zelda nodded. "Very well then. Thank you for your time."

Master Hand pressed a button on his desk. "Crazy Hand,"

Crazy Hand appeared in a cloud of pink smoke. "Imma here br0!" He said insanely.

"Please take Zelda back to her room."

"Wait wait wait-"

"CAN DO SIR!" Crazy Hand yelled. He grabbed the princess in his fist, and started squeezing heavily. He then opened his palm, to reveal nothing there. "Teleportation complete sir! I can has cookie nao?"

"Are you sure you teleported her to her room?" Master Hand asked.

Crazy Hand laughed evily, then returned to normal. "Of course! What, you think I'm crazy?"

Suddenly, a loud shriek and a feminine yell of "Damn you Crazy Hand!" was heard as Zelda fell from the sky.

Master Hand glared at Crazy Hand.

"... IT WAS HIM!" Crazy Hand yelled, vanishing in another cloud of multi-colored smoke. When it vanished, Wario was left in his place.

"How'd I get here?"

**1 Painful Fall later**

Link sewed up another one of Zelda's deep wounds. Due to Crazy Hand's 'amazing' teleportation skills, Zelda not only fell from a 3 story high balcony, but she also landed in a bush of thorned roses. "Sorry that I let you go down there by yourself."

Zelda sighed. "Would you stop apologizing? You said 'sorry' about 4 times."

The other Hylian nodded. The two were still in Zelda's room, as Zelda's somewhat-critical condition. Link wanted to assure that his friend was okay before leaving her alone (well, as alone as Peach would allow).

"Okay, okay." Link replied. "Just let me bandage that cut on your leg and you're good to go."

"Too bad Doctor Mario went on vacation." Zelda said. "It's always when he's away when everyone starts getting hurt."

Link chuckled a bit. "Okay, you're all patched up."

Zelda got back onto her feet. "Thank you."

"I guess I'll go then. I've got a lot to do tomorrow." Link said.

"Wait," Zelda said. "What exactly are you doing?"

Link knew that Zelda was bound to ask, considering her curiosity. "The Shadow Guns have been running rampant, as you already know. I'm trying to get some information on them so I can figure out how to dispose of this threat."

Zelda nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. Do you mind if I tag along? I don't really have any plans tomorrow since Ike's out of town, plus you'll need all the help you can get."

"I appreciate it." Link thanked. "I'll meet you outside the mansion tomorrow then. Good night."

"Good night." Zelda replied back, as Link shut the door.

**Shadow Gun's Secret Lair**

Another messanger ran as fast as he could to his boss. "Sir! We have news on Hero!"

Henry nodded. "What is it?"

"He's residing at the Smash Mansion! After we assaulted his home, he went there for help. He must have a connection with one of the Smashers." The messanger panted.

The gang leader simply nodded. "Very well." He turned to a bandit. "Scout the Smash Mansion, find any information and weapons you can. But whatever you do, do NOT get caught."

"I will not fail you. Ze city shall be ours." The gang member turned around to face his boss. He smirked, and flickered his cigarete. "Ze Saharan Spy is nothing but a master at ze art of ze stealth."

"Good. Now get moving." Henry commanded. As the spy left, he laughed. "Smashville will be mine... all mine!"

***ahem* Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am ze Saharan Spy. I have taken over for ze Author while he is being... detained at ze' educational facility. No matter, I am only here to announce what he should be telling you. First off, with ze finales over, he may or may not be updating zis story as much as he should be. Zis "author's block" may pop up, so beware. I have also put a familiy of flying squirrels in his wall, so he may be haulted there as well.**

**Well, off to visit the mansion and stab some people. Good day to you, reader.**


	6. The Vile Witch

**Ey! I'm back with another chapter.**

**Zelda: *reads story* You make me dress like a stripper? What the hell was going through your mind when you wrote that?**

**SHH! Don't spoil the story!**

**Chapter 6: The Vile Witch**

Link patiently waited for Zelda to arrive. Instead of letting himself sit at the dining table of the Smash Mansion, he snuck into the kitchen in the dead of night and stole several fruits. It was still too awkward for him to be sitting with the other smashers after so long.

The Hylian leaned against the wall. He was equipped with his sword and shield, now in his signature green garb instead of the old cloak he used before. He only needed to wait for Zelda until he were to start his search.

The front door opened, Zelda coming out of it. Instead of her usual purple and white dress, she came out in her green one. "Sorry, couldn't decide what to wear."

Link nodded. "Acceptable. We'll need a place to start."

"The Smashville Bar?" Zelda asked.

Link shook his head. "No. Those drunkards won't know anything. Plus its much too early for anyone to be there."

"Well," Zelda thought out loud. "Perhaps we can interrogate those who _have _been attacked by the Shadow Guns."

Link nodded. "Good idea. But few have actually survived their attacks. It'll be difficult to find someone who has gone through such an event."

Zelda walked down the stairs. "We'll think of something." She said.

Link followed the princess towards the town. Nearly an hour of silence passed by the two. Bystanders easily noticed them and started rumors.

The male Hylian then thought of something. "I think I have an idea, but you're not going to like it..."

Zelda shrugged. "What is it?"

**5 minutes later**

"This has got to be your worst plan EVER." Zelda pouted. She was now dressed in a short skirt and tank top. She was also wearing high heels, which felt quite awkward to walk in for the princess, always wearing boots instead. Flashy rings were around her fingers and gold earrings were on her ears.

"Well, most of their members are men." Link defended. "This'll make sure we get at least SOMEONE from their guild to come along and give us answers." Secretly, his own desire to see Zelda in such a revealing outfit _may _have influenced his decision.

"This is still stupid! I am a princess, not an expensive whore!" She argued.

Link sighed. "Look, just walk around until we find a Shadow Gun member, then you can change back into your dress."

"Fine." Zelda finally said. Link's plan was to use the enemy's lustful desires against them. Zelda would attract a Shadow Gun member, then the two would attack him and get any answers from him. Since the Shadow Guns have been out in daylight, it wouldn't be long until one of their sexual desires get the best of them.

Zelda started her walk. She felt quite uncomfortable with many male eyes glued onto her. Undoubtedly, this would spawn much gossip and vicious rumors.

It only took a few minutes before a few Shadow Gun scouts noticed Zelda from an dark ally. They lustfully eyed Zelda, watching her every movement. "Look at the ass on that one!" One said.

Another one snickered. "Yeah! Let's have a little fun with her!"

"Hold it!" The last one said. "Don't you see? We can't have this sexy babe shoutin' and kickin' while we get it on. We'll need some backup incase she tries to pull anythin' funny."

"Fiiiinnee..." The first groaned. He open up a sewer pipe from the ground and hopped in. He landed on his feet. He looked up and shouted to his comrades "Keep an eye on her. Don't lose her." He walked across the path, hopping over the streams of unspeakable liquids.

Eventually, he stopped at a passageway. He yelled inside. "Sexy woman up at the surface!"

With those six words, about a dozen more Shadow Blades came rushing out. Soon, the men rushed back to the surface, ready to make their move.

Unknown to them, one Shadow Blade appeared from the shadows. This one was a wrinkly, old female; dressed in a black gown. Her hair was an ugly shade of grey, and a mole decorated her lip. Her skin was a ghostly white color, and her eyes were bloodshot red. She carried a machete in her hands and twirled it idly.

"So..." She said in a raspy, evil voice. "Someone is fairer and younger than I? How dare she! I shall have her head!"

**20 minutes later**

Due to the poor leadership of the team of bandits they had finally caught up to the other 2 scouts. Zelda hadn't gone far at all, and now the bandits were ready to pounce.

Zelda stopped when she heard the unsheathing of a knife. She was suddenly pulled into an ally, met up with a knife at her neck, and a bandit with his arm around her stomach.

"Times are tough." He said darkly. "And me and my friends want a little fun." More bandits came out of the shadows.

Zelda's heart beated a million times a minute. "Link," She thought desperately. "You better be here fast!" The princess noticed another bandit slowly unlacing her top from behind.

As if on cue, a sound of a blade slicing through a poor man's gut was heard. 2 bandits watching fell forward, deep wounds in their backs.

The first bandit dropped Zelda in a state of panic, accidentally cutting off one of the straps of her shirt. "Where'd he go?"

"Right here." A familiar voice rang. Zelda's captor had been stabbed. He yelled loudly before dying.

Zelda kicked backwards into a bandit's stomach, making him let go of her top. She summoned a bit of fire magic and blasted him.

Link jumped up high and landed back-to-back against Zelda. "Sorry for the wait."

"Sorry won't cut it." Zelda whispered angrily as the two were surrounded.

"Will saving you do?" Link asked jokingly.

"Sure." Zelda said.

Link jumped up high, right behind another bandit and kicked him to the ground, slicing all around him, striking 2 more bandits.

Zelda teleported away. One bandit she was facing looked around. Suddenly, he found himself set on fire by a stray fireball from afar. "Dammit Gron," He yelled. "You're a liar liar- I'm on fire!"

Link took the role of being a frontliner as he blocked a punch with his shield, hearing knuckles crack. He sliced around, sure that Zelda was not near him.

A few minutes passed, and all the bandits were dead, burning, or both.

Zelda reappeared next to Link. "That was some fight." She said. "Can I put my dress back on?"

Link nodded. He walked out of the alley. About 20 seconds later, he came back in with a brown bag. He reached in and handed Zelda her dress. "Just wear it over your outfit for now."

As Zelda dressed, Link tried to find a survivor. Apparently, he was too strong, as there was not a single survivor. "I think we killed them all..." He admitted.

"So I nearly got raped for NOTHING?" Zelda yelled in rage.

"Not for nothing..." A raspy voice called out.

Zelda and Link turned towards the dead end of the alley. The elderly woman held a large machete in her hand. "I will kill you and leave your body for the buzzards." She said spitefully.

Zelda felt a chill run up her spine. "Who are you?"

"I am Lev. Levina." The elderly woman said. "Elite agent of the Shadow Blade. But I do not come for Shadow Blade concerns. I come for your head."

Link stepped in front of Zelda in a battle stance. "One of us is leaving without a head, and it sure won't be me or Zelda."

"Of course it won't be you." Levina said to Link. "I come for the girl."

"Why me?" Zelda asked, putting on a brave face.

Levina laughed eerily. "As long as I draw breath, no woman shall be more fairer or younger than I."

"So... just about all of them?" Link asked.

The elderly woman scowled. "For that I'll take your head as well, fool." She twirled her machete. "Prepare to die!" She summoned magic into her hand, then touched the ground. The ground around her seemed to blighten, as if dying. The dead ground soon reached right under Link and Zelda. Somehow, it caused them to fall over.

Levina rushed forward towards the downed Hylians. She stabbed forward with her weapon, only to be met by Link's shield. Being Link, he tried pushing the woman back, but felt very tired and weak. He was being overpowered by the wrinkly female.

Zelda quickly teleported away. The spell caused her to feel lightheaded. She tried shooting Din's Fire at the woman, noticing how it took much longer to actually conjure her magic. She missed. "The ground makes me feel weak..." She said, holding her head in pain.

Link rolled away. Barely able to lift up his sword, he panted and sweated. He sliced lazily forward, unable to strike the woman.

"Don't worry, pretty boy!" She said crazily. "It'll all be over soon!" She kicked Link to the ground. He felt powerless to protect himself as Levina raised her machete.

Zelda ran as fast as she could and pounced the enemy. She jumped off quickly and collapsed to the ground. Her vision was becoming hazy and she felt like she was having a migraine, unable to walk straight.

As for Link, he was completely paralized. Unable to move any part of his body, he felt that his world was over as Levina got up and raised her weapon once more.

Levina grinned wickedly as she was ready to draw blood. She was completely uneffected by her own aura. Link watched weakly, awaiting his demise.

But it never came...

Link opened his eyes to see a few magic sparks coming out of Zelda's fingertips. He looked at his oppressor, to see her panting on the floor. Zelda had shot another Din's Fire from the ground, sucessfully hitting the witch.

The Hylians blacked out, completely immobilized from Levina's Aura. Right before he lost conciousness, Link heard (or, he thought he heard) police sirens and the dropping of Levina's machete.

**2 days later**

Zelda groaned as she woke up. "W... where am I?" She asked. She still felt paralyzed, unable to sit up.

"Welcome back to reality." An italian voice called out. Zelda was in the Smash Mansion Infirmary, though had no idea how she got there. "You must have had-a quite a fight."

Zelda nodded. "Yes... I remember a woman named 'Levina' who tried to kill me and Link... I saw her use some sort of black magic, we fought a bit, then I passed out..."

Dr. Mario nodded. "Once you regain feeling back in your feet, I'll get Link-a for you."

The princess weakly smiled. "Thank you..."

"By the way," The doctor said. "They found a mini skirt, and a half-torn tank top on you when the paramedics came. Mind explaining?"

Zelda groaned. "Its a long story. Let Link go through the interrogation."

Dr. Mario shrugged and wrote in his clipboard. "Okie dokie... Patient... very... irritable..."

"Ugh..."

**Well, the wraps up another chapter. And now, if you will excuse me, I will pass out from lack of sleep. *passes out***


	7. Unexpected Surprises

**Before we start, I'd like to clear a few things up.**

**1: First off, The Four Swordsmen has been discontinued. Who knows, maybe I'll write the finale later. But for now, I'm focusing on this story.**

**2: The "incident at the concert" will not be explained in the actual story, since pretty much all the Smashers know what happened, and there would be no need to have them randomly retell the story. So, I shall quickly give a debriefing on what happened.**

**Ike and Zelda are dating (blah blah blah), Link gets extremely jealous (blah blah blah), that doggie at smashville with the guitar holds a concert (Yadda yadda yadda), Link sees Zelda and Ike making out (Wait what huh), Link goes berserk and attacks Ike (blah yadda wait), giant floating hand expels Link (yadda what blah), other floating hand burns down the concert and Mewtwo in it (the end). That should hopefully give you a clue what the hell happened before this story. Maybe I'll make a proper one-shot prequel. But again, I'm focused on this story.**

**Okay, to the story!**

**Chapter 7: Unexpected Surprises**

"I think my feet are feeling normal again..." Zelda said, walking in place a bit. About an hour had passed since she woke up, and now the symptoms of the black magic were wearing off.

"Good-a." Dr. Mario said. Again, he wrote down on his clip board. "Patient appears to be returning to normal. Irritability appears to have faded..."

Crazy Hand randomly bursted through the door with many get-well cards in his... hand. "HALLO DOKTOR!" He shouted in an awful German accent. "I BRING TIDINGS OF GOOD WILL TO THE PRINCESS, BUT I ALSO BRING DEATH THREATS TO THE MAN IN THE SKIRT!"

Zelda's expression became a bit worried. "Death threats?"

"... Okay," Crazy admitted. "There was about 8 and a half of them, but 7 of those were from me. The other 1 and a half are from Ganondorf." He opened up one and showed it to Zelda, which read _"Dear sir or madman: You sir are a smelly abomination of the upmost vile upbringing. You deserve a pair of trousers in your pancakes! Loveity lovely Love, Crazy Hand"_

Zelda took a step back from Crazy, in case he tried to shove the card under her eyelid like he did with Pichu a while back. "Umm... where's Link?"

Dr. Mario bit his lip. "Well, he apparently has a fleshwound in his side. It's a bit-a deep, but he should be fine. I can show you his room if-a you want-a to see him."

"Yes, please." Zelda demanded. The Doctor led Zelda out of the room, leaving Crazy Hand twitching on the floor.

Zelda entered Link's room. He was already up and about. He was shirtless, exposing a heavily bandaged area around his left kidney. "Top of the morning." He said casually.

Zelda was a bit shocked to see Link reacting so calmly to the fact he had a 2 inch deep wound where his kidney should be. "Umm... Do you mind explaining the fleshwound?"

"I think when that Levina character got caught by the police, she accidentally dropped her machete on me." Link explained. "I guess I'm lucky she didn't accidentally drop it on my head instead."

The princess shuddered at the thought of Link's accidental decapitation. "That's going to leave a bad scar..." She said. "Well, we both just almost lost our lives. Can you at least tell me that _something _came out of this?"

Link nodded. "Luckily, the police arrived just in time and they jailed that 'woman.'" He put a figurative quotation mark around 'woman.' "They interrogated her, and she spilt a few beans. The police also want to ask us a few questions."

Zelda nodded. "When?"

"In ten minutes at the police station." Link replied. "I see that you're able to walk, so I guess we'll walk down there now."

After a quick clothing change, the two exited the Smash Mansion. Zelda wore her red dress, while Link came out in his white tunic.

"Be on your guard." Link whispered.

If the rate of Shadow Blade attacks kept going, it wouldn't be long until they would just attack in broad daylight and rule the streets. Someone had to stop them, and Link was a bit worried that title would fall to him.

**Smash Mansion**

The formally dressed agent rolled past Wario. He looked from behind a potted plant, taking note of Yoshi and Kirby carrying a large cooler stocked with food to their room.

The Saharan Spy smirked. He looked at his watch, and his figure faded. He took several steps into the hallway, walking slowly to conserve power.

Soon, he got to a large Restricted area. "The Item Storage has to be here." he said. He flicked open a butterfly knife and cut the security tape. He opened the door and took a peek in.

The area was swarming with Alloys. Up ahead was a large "ITEM STORAGE" tag on a door.

The Spy mentally cackled. Still cloaked, he looked into the room. Alloys patrolled the entire area. All of them were ready to kill on sight. Except for a Blue and Red alloy in the corner busy making out, despite the fact they had no faces.

The Saharan Spy looked at his cigarette case. He pressed "5" into it. Gray smoke engulfed his body. It dissipated, and suddenly he took the form of Master Hand. He walked/floated into the room. The Alloys looked at him, getting into battle stances. But upon realizing that it was Master Hand, they returned to their patrolling.

'Master Hand' then said, "All of you!" The Saharan Spy sounded _exactly _like Master Hand. "Kirby and Yoshi have stolen another cooler from the Kitchen. Cease your patrolling and get it back from them!" The Alloys obeyed and left immedately.

"Hahaha!" The Spy cackled. He took off his disguise and opened up the Item Storage door. Golden Hammers, Ray Guns, Beam Swords, Bob-ombs, and other weapons littered the area. "With all this weaponry, the Shadow Blades shall be unstoppable!"

His plan was to report on any weapons and this was plenty. However, he also realized something else. The Smashers would not give them up without a fight. The only way to take on all 34 (excluding Link) smashers, was to divide them.

The Saharan Spy looked at his cigarette case again. He pressed 8, and then another gray haze appeared. When it faded, Zelda was left in his place.

"Time to cause havoc..." 'Zelda' said evilly.

**Police Station**

"It's a good thing you took that woman out of comission." The officer congratulated. "Those generals in that gang of theirs are especially dangerous."

Link and Zelda exchanged glances. "They have generals?"

The officer nodded. "Indeed they do." He pulled a folder out of his cabinet. He opened it up, revealing profiles on several key people in their gang.

_**Levina**, also known as "Madam Condemed," is known for brutality and vanity. She is a vile, jealous woman who has targeted the maidens of Smashville simply out of envy. Once a very beautiful woman herself, a life of vice left Levina a spiteful witch. She terrorizes all of Smashville, murdering any woman who is fairer or younger than she... which is just about all of them. She has been seen using machetes to murder people, and against more powerful foes, black magic. Her Rending Aura ability makes any combatant she encounters become weak and fatigue._

**_Saharan Spy_**_is a very dangerous general. He has no name, other than the alias of "Saharan Spy." He was once a member of the Smashville police himself, but turned to the dark side. Easily distinguishable by the formal suit and fez, he is a master of disguise. He has been seen impersonating anyone or anything, and can even perfectly mimic one's voice. His heavily-sharpened butterfly knife has found its way into more backs than army traitors._

**_Zin Hai'ju _**_is a very bizzare and mentally unstable person. He is the most fear interrogator of the Shadow Guns and has tortured countless innocents in his never-ending quest to uncover plots against them (though, never finds them). Most recently, he has been seen trying to interrogate several tigers in the Smashville Zoo. His very gaze can cause a variety of ailments. Very few have survived his onslaughts._

**_Henry Falicain _**_is the ringleader of the Shadow Guns. He has murdered many people on a worldwide scale, and now tries to destroy Smashville. He has a distant half-brother only known as Leonardo Cardinare, who was presumed dead when Henry destroyed his town. With an army at his disposal, Falicain is a very dangerous man, and knows how to fight._

"That's one out of four of them." The officer said. "Perhaps we can get the upper hand of this war."

Link nodded. "Thank you for your time, sir."

The two headed out the door, new information in their heads. With some information on the Shadow Guns' top generals, now they knew who to be on the look out for.

**Smash Mansion**

"It feels great to be back." Ike said happily. He had arrived earlier than expected, hoping he'd be able to catch Zelda's suprised face. He walked in through the front door after figiting with his pockets to find the key.

Fox, Falco, and Pit lazily sat on the couch (well, in Pit's case he was sitting up-side-down), flipping through the channels. Everyone else was training, conversing, or simply doing whatever. Falco recognized the swordsman quickly. "Hey there, stranger." He joked.

Ike smiled. "Hello Falco."

"If you're looking for Zelda," Fox said. "She's upstairs in her room."

The blue-haired swordsman nodded. "Thanks."

It didn't take too long until he accidentally met up with Zelda along the way up. "Hello, love."

Zelda replied only by pushing him away. "Stay away from me, you creep."

Ike raised his eyebrow. This was not like Zelda at all. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes," She said. "YOU are the matter. Frankly, I don't enjoy your company."

"But we're getting married." Ike stated, using simple logic to his advantage.

"Think again, you nimrod!" She took off the ring she had and threw it out the nearby window. "Crawl back to where you came from, because we are over!" She stomped upstairs to her room.

Ike was left hurt. Why would Zelda just suddenly dump him? Coincidentally, Marth passed by.

"Marth," Ike said, trying to get his attention.

Marth noticed him and stopped. "Hi Ike."

"Do you think I'm a nimrod?"

"Umm... that was an odd question. Why?" Marth asked, confused. He had missed the quick fight that had just commenced.

Ike sighed. "Zelda just dumped me. Why'd she do that?"

While Marth did see that was quite shocking, he tried his best to think of a logical explanation. "Perhaps she lost interest and met someone else?"

"But who?" Ike questioned.

Marth then said a few choice words that would have sealed the couple's fate. "Well, _Link _did arrive a few days ago."

"WHAT?" Ike yelled. "That punk's here to take her back? Over my dead body!"

Before interrogating Marth any more, he rushed into his room and dropped off his things. He rushed downstairs, unsure of where he was supposed to go. Sure enough, Link and Zelda were talking with each other, having a good time, even laughing at a joke or two.

His blood boiled. The quiet lobby went from a peaceful silence, to a deadly one. Link and Zelda both noticed Ike by the stairs. More importantly, they noticed how he still had his broadsword equipped. Passbyers stopped and stared at the three, as if they were about to watch a gladiator battle.

Link tried to break the eeiry silence. "Hello, Ike."

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this one!" Ike yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Link asked honestly.

Ike unsheathed his sword. "I know you come for Zelda, and now you will pay!"

**CLIFFHANGER!**

**You: Help! This cliff is especially dangerous, as there are pointy rocks at the bottom!**

**Well, too bad my friend! For you must wait another (insert amount of time here) until I post the next chapter!**

**You: Nooo!**


	8. On Garde!

**Here is the new chapter... Enjoy, you crazies!**

**Link: Damn you write fast.**

**Zin Hai'ju: Why am I here? I haven't even been introduced in the story. WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?**

**Don't know... TO THE CHAPTER!**

**All Three: HAAZAAH!**

**Chapter 8: En Garde!**

Link unsheathed his own sword and faced his opponent, as if locked into a staring contest. He felt other stares and gazes locked onto him, especially Zelda's. "I do not come to steal Zelda away from you. I'm only here for assistance." He said simply.

Ike twirled his sword around, blue eyes burning with anger. "Lies!" He shouted. "Your intentions are hidden by your lies, and I will not tolerate it! Prepare yourself!"

And the brawl began.

The two swordsmen rushed at each other, weapons at ready. Link initiated with a regular slash, which Ike easily parried. Ike brought his sword forward, slashing downwards. Considering that Ike had a heavier weapon than him and superior strength, Link knew he wouldn't have been able to block the attack. He quickly rolled away, the sword missing his hat by an inch.

Link used the opportunity to rush in with a shield bash. While the two were locked into a life and death fight, he knew he couldn't kill him. Not only would Zelda be fuming, but it would also seal his fate as being the most hated person in the rest of the smashers' book, which would leave him without any allies. Ike sidestepped behind Link and kicked him forward. Link kept himself from falling and instead got into a defensive position. He pulled out his boomerang and tossed it at the swordsman. It missed, and came back as recurve after accidentally smacking Luigi in the face. This time, Ike was hit in the back of the head.

"If you can use your magic toys, then I won't hesitate to use mine!" Ike shouted. He charged fire into his sword, ready to strike. He stabbed downwards, causing a pillar of flame to hit Link from below. Link was knocked over, and Ike came in to finish him off. He held up his shield in defense as Ike sliced forward. Again, Link rolled away from his attacker.

_This isn't working. _Link thought desperately. _I can't just keep dodging him forever!_

As if on cue, Yoshi and Kirby came down the stairs, running in panic. They carried the large cooler from before, with a large army of Alloys following them. They ran past Ike and Link, and headed out the front door. The Alloys followed, ramming into Ike and stomping on Link's shield. Using the golden opportunity, Link managed to get a large amount of distance between the two swordsmen.

Link tried to think of a way to get Ike to yield without using his deadly weaponry as he dodged another one of Ike's predictable attacks.

Zelda felt torn apart as the two men fought and squabbled. While her heart belonged to Ike, she could never support his decision to attack Link so viciously. She could only watch and hope for the best. "Why must my life be torn into two so often?" She desperately thought.

**Meanwhile**

Mario cackled evilly as he exited the mansion through the backdoor. A cloud of smoke appeared, and out came the Saharan Spy, no doubt causing trouble.

"Haha!" He carried a Super Scope, a Gooey Bomb, a Ray Gun, a Starwand, and a Cracker Launcher in his hands. "With those pesky idiots preoccupied with their own dramas, those weapons are as good as mine!" He cloaked, ready to report back to his leader.

Unknown to the spy, a familiar cardboard box that sat in the background shifted slightly.

**The Fight**

Link back flipped agilely as Ike stabbed forward.

"Stop running and fight, you coward!" Ike taunted. "Or are you just too weak to face the fact I can beat you so easily?" Link gritted his teeth. He foolishly stopped to reply to the insult, which resulted in Ike grazing his chest. "GAAHH!" He yelled, noticing his tunic ran red with blood. _Haven't I bled enough already in the past week? _He bitterly thought.

A large amount of shocked gasps came from the crowd. Zelda winced as Link grabbed his wound and tried to patch it up with some of the fabric of his sleeve. She had enough. Quickly, she rushed up in between the two.

"Stop!" She shouted. They both stopped fighting immediately. "You are acting like ignorant children! I'd expect better from _both _of you!"

"He started it." Ike said.

Link groaned in annoyance. "Okay, now you're just downright lying."

"I don't care who started it!" Zelda shouted once more. "We have much bigger problems than a rivalry this ancient."

Link looked at Zelda, then back at Ike. "She's right. Can we just put this behind us?"

"Typical." Ike responded. "Siding with the princess as usual. You know what, you can keep her!" He took off his own ring, threw it to the ground, and stabbed it with his fiery sword.

Zelda was appalled by Ike's change of heart. "If you are going to get this jealous over me, then maybe a wedding _isn't _in order." She grabbed Link's wrist. "Come on. We need to report to Master Hand immediately."

"There's no need." Link said.

"Why is that?"

"Because he's right behind you."

Zelda looked behind her, to indeed, see the giant hand.

"What is going on here?" Master Hand asked. "I heard the fighting from all the way in my office!"

Ike looked at the two Hylians. "Just settling a... minor disagreement." He got up, dusted himself off, then sent Link a death glare before walking to his room.

Ignoring the blue-haired swordsman, Link unsheathed his sword. "Do you mind taking this to your office? People are staring..."

The three looked around, to indeed see nearly all of the smashers eyeing them. They headed towards Master Hand's office, letting the excitement die down. The hand told the Hylians to sit down, ready to hear their excuses.

"Well?" M.H. asked.

Link decided to step up first. "Ike tried to kill me because he thought I stole Zelda away from him."

"Is this true?" The glove asked, turning to Zelda.

"You can ask anyone there," Zelda explained. "Ike said that Link only came for me, then he went berserk on him."

Master Hand sighed. "I liked it better around here when there was only 12 of you here. Much less drama going about." He turned to Link. "And you didn't bother stopping? This is a serious thing you have done."

"I was only trying to defend myself. I tried talking him out of it, but he refused to listen." Link replied. "I wasn't just going to stand there and let him stab me to death."

M.H. nodded. "Fine. I'll have a word with Ike later. Good day to you both-"

"Wait!" Suddenly, a Green Alloy burst through the door. "Master Hand!" It said. "We have most troubling news!"

"What is it?" The Master asked.

The Green Alloy caught its breath. "We did an item check count. We're missing a few of our weapons in the item storage. We think someone has stolen them after you told us to go after Kirby and Yoshi for stealing another cooler from the kitchen."

"I did no such thing!" Master Hand exclaimed. "Surely an imposter."

Link shook his head. "I don't know. It's kinda hard to impersonate a gigantic, floating glove."

"Are you sure it was not Crazy Hand?"

"The hand was a right hand, Crazy is left." The Alloy responded.

"This is very odd indeed..." Master Hand said gravely. He turned to the Smasher and ex-smasher. "If you will, please leave me as I figure out what is going on."

The two didn't need to be told twice, they exited the office immediately. As soon as they were out into the hallway, Zelda quickly started another conversation.

"I'm so sorry for what Ike just did." She apologized. She knew Ike was far from a gentleman, but that was way out of line.

"It's fine, it's fine." Link said. "I should be the one apologizing. Ike just burned his engagement ring until it was nothing but ashes!"

Zelda looked at her own silver engagement ring. "Do you think he really means it when he said it was over?"

Link sighed guiltily. "Last I remember, Ike was quite the hot head. For both of our sakes, let's hope he takes it back."

Zelda looked down sadly. "I loved him... If he's serious about this... I don't know what I'll do."

_Maybe look in front of you. _Link thought. Granted, he was still in love with the princess, but he pushed his feelings aside for Smashville's sake. Out loud, he said, "Who knows, life has a funny way of bringing people together.

Zelda chuckled a bit. "That has got to be the most profound thing I've ever heard you say in all my life."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Zelda punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Yeah, really!"

Link shook his head, smirking. "I think you've forgotten one little trick I used on you countless times back in Melee to get you to yield."

The princess gasped in fake shock. "Don't you dare!"

"I do dare." Link said warningly. He raised his hands, ready to pounce. Suddenly, he grabbed the princess and started tickling her. As he expected, she roared with laughter.

"L-Link! S-s-stop!" She said in between laughs. It caused her to collapse onto the floor.

Link childishly followed her down. "Never!"

Zelda pushed Link off of her and quickly teleported away. "Cheater!"

"Yoo-hoo!" Zelda's voice came. Link looked at the direction, to see Zelda waving innocently from outside, visible through a window.

The two were acting like children again. Link still remembers those golden years, when there was no Shadow Guns, mass Smashville murders, or Ike. Just him and her being friends. He longed for those golden days to come back again. Link rushed out the door in a mad dash, the thoughts of any danger completely gone.

**Marth's Room**

"How was I supposed to know you were going to go out and dump her?" Marth asked innocently.

"Because you said she was taking interest into Link!" Ike yelled back.

"I never said that. I simply said Link was here at the mansion." Marth replied. "Besides, you _were _gone for about a week."

Ike groaned. "I know... Is it really possible for someone to just suddenly fall in love in less than a week?"

"You should know. It only took about 3 and a half hours for you and Zelda." Marth said simply. He opened his window for fresh air. However, while he was looking outside, he noticed Link and Zelda playing outside in the backyard. "Um... you might want to take a look at this."

"If it involves Link, I'm not interested." Ike said, crossing his arms and facing away.

"He's tickling Zelda."

"Still not interested."

"He just pinned her down to the ground."

"Nope."

"He ripped her dress off."

"I'm still not going to bu-WHAT?"

"Relax," Marth said. "I was just saying that so you would actually see this."

Ike sighed in defeat, finally giving in. "What is it?"

Marth pointed at the backyard. It was a very large one, almost covering as much ground as the mansion itself. There were plenty of trees and tall grasses, which could easily cover up anything. "There's something moving in the grass, right over there."

Ike squinted, putting a hand above his eyes to protect them from the sun. "It looks like a person."

"Yeah, but he's carrying something..." Marth noted.

"Wait..." Ike said, looking closer. He saw something in his hands... "That's a gun!"

Marth gasped. Looking himself, he could see it was a Sniper Rifle. He was wearing a cape, with the infamous symbol on it. "A Shadow Guns assassin!"

Link and Zelda were blissfully unaware of the man hiding in the grass as they continued their tickling.

He loaded a bullet, ready to fire. He put the scope to his eye, ready to take out his target.

"Good bye, Hero."

**ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!**

**Link: Ah great, I'm gonna die, aren't I?**

**You: NO! I'm stuck on an even HIGHER cliff with even SHARPER rocks that are even MORE painful!**

**Link: I feel bad for you. As you must wait longer for the next chapter!**

**Zin Hai'ju: By the way, apparently plentiful reviews **_**may **_**cause the kitten to write faster.**

**Motivation for the win!**

**All 3 + You: HAAZAAH!**


	9. To War!

**If I'm getting lazy, well won't you slap my face? Because I'm BACK! Back! (I'm back!) I'm Back! Bing-Bang (really, really back)**

**Zin Hai'ju: Really, you should leave song parodies to Weird Al.**

**I know... *sob***

**Chapter 9: To War!**

**(This part takes place 10 minutes prior to assassin spotting)**

Link continued his tickle attack on the down princess. She roared with laughter, Link refusing to give up. He had followed Zelda outside into the backyard and was still tickling her. "Say it!"

"Hahahaha! N-No!" Zelda shouted, trying her best to escape from her stronger adversary.

"Come on, say it and I'll stop!" Link pleaded playfully.

"O-o-okay!" Zelda said, her face turning red from laughing too hard.

Link stopped tickling the princess, but still kept her pinned down. "Well?"

Zelda took the opportunity to regain her breath. With a sudden dash, Zelda was out of Link's reach. "Psyche!"

Link groaned in defeat, falling to the ground. Now on his back, he sighed playfully. "Once again, I have been outsmarted."

Zelda cautiously walked towards him again, laughing in victory. "Victory is mine."

"Mm-hmm." Link silently said, a tone of sarcasm apparent in his voice.

Zelda decided to lay down on her stomach next to him. "You know," She said, taking the conversation elsewhere. "I thought I would be devastated when Ike just broke up with me like that, but you've cushioned that blow quite a bit."

Link smiled at her. "Anytime, princess."

Zelda punched Link lightly. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Hehe..." Link laughed quietly. "It's been a while since I really had a good time too. I thought there was nothing ahead of me when I got kicked out of the Smash Mansion. But I think there's more in life than what it's leading on."

Zelda grinned, seeing Link much happier. "I do enjoy your company. Perhaps when this whole Shadow Guns crisis blows over, I could visit you."

Link snickered. "My little home isn't exactly the most inviting house... Especially when it's half demolished and a mutilated body in the bed."

The princess had a weak stomach, so the thought of a person, all bloody and gored made her feel sick. "Next topic, please."

"Sorry." Link apologized.

For a few minutes, the two just laid in the grass, watching the world go by.

Link passed a glance at Zelda, who was now on her back as well, staring up into the blue sky. Her chest slowly rose up and down, her face free of any worries that normally would have plagued her had he not been there at the moment.

Zelda rose from the ground, dusting herself off. "It's been great talking to you again."

Link sat up. "You're leaving?" He asked.

The princess shrugged. "I guess... Why? Do you have something else in mind?"

"Yes, actually." Link said, another fiendish look in eyes. "If you're thinking of sneaking away after beating me once, you are sadly mistaken!"

Zelda realized he meant he was about to tickle her again. Thanks to her somewhat large dress, she ended up tripping before getting a good start. Link recaptured her with ease, tickling her until she started turning red again.

Meanwhile, the assassin lifted his rifle to his eye. He aimed for Link's head. A murderous smile crept onto his face.

"Goodbye, Hero."

Suddenly, he suddenly felt something grabbing him from behind. Without enough time to react, he was lifted off the ground, in a choke hold by another smasher. A gloved hand covered his mouth, blocking any attempt to speak.

"You're not going anywhere." Snake whispered. He had interveined Link's incoming death and managed to capture the assailant as well.

Link stopped his tickle attack to see Snake. His face turned red in embarrasment, hoping that he did not see him acting so childish.

Zelda used the golden opportunity to teleport from under Link's body to a few feet away. "Ha!"

Link repaired his posture as he got Zelda's attention with a "come on." He walked up to Snake, who was standing up in the tall grass. Thanks to his plentiful amount of dark-colored armor in such a bright environment, this (ironically) made the stealth agent easy to see. "Who is this?"

Snake only answered with "Get Donkey Kong." The bandit was kicking and thrashing, trying to escape.

Link quickly ran into the mansion. Only a minute later, the large ape had arrived. "Knock him out." Snake commanded.

The bandit's eyes widened in fear. He mentally cursed as Donkey Kong whirled his fist, ready to deal the killing blow.

**WHAM!**

The bandit was punched hard in the stomach, knocking him out from the sheer pain.

Link smirked. "I think I know what to do with this guy..."

**1 hour later**

"Graaahshh..." The bandit gurgled, coughing up some blood and a tooth. The first thing he noticed, is that he was strapped to a chair, ropes around his body, feet tied together as well as his wrists. "Dammit! I'm never listening to that Zin Hai'ju ever again! Him and his _instincts_!"

Suddenly, 4 figures came from the shadows. One was easily distinguishable as Bowser, while another one was quite obviously Ganondorf.

"Look what we have here... Fresh meat." Bowser said darkly.

Link stepped forward. "You remember the deal. Don't kill him. We need the information."

Ganondorf spat. "Yes, yes. You're lucky I don't kill you where you stand."

Link took his leave.

The last figure came out of the shadows. Well known as Snake, he stepped forward. "Luckily for you," he said. "The three most advanced torture specialists in a 50 mile radius is standing in this room."

"Ahh crap."

**4 hours of pure, unadulterated torture later**

The bandit was at a loss. By now they had starved him, dunked his head into lava straight from Ganondorf's lair back in Hyrule, forced him to watch High School Musical, dunked his head into lava straight from Bowser's lair, kneed him in the groin 73 times, tore out his hair, tore off his eyebrows with duct tape, and brutally beat him for about 20 minutes straight.

"I GIVE!" He screamed, visibly tearing. "I-I'll tell you everything I know! Just turn off that forsaken show!"

Snake turned off the television showing a Barney marathon. "Alright, tell us _everything_."

"Okay okay!" The bandit said. "I work for the Shadow Guns. I'm a top sniper in my devision, and I was sent to kill that elf guy."

"Link..." Snake realized. "Why would you be targetting Link of all the smashers?"

"I didn't know his name was Link." The bandit said in an truthful manner. "The Shadow Guns only know him as Luke Hero. He's killed several of our members and arrested one of our generals, so we killed his friend and destroyed his home, and now it looks like he got back up from you guys. But that will not matter! The Shadow Guns are coming to this mansion as we speak, ready to lay siege on this damnable place!"

Bowser thought for a minute. "When will they be here?"

"They said they would start their bombing at 1700 hours."

"5 o'clock..." Ganondorf said gravely. He looked up at the clock on the wall. "It's 4:45!"

Snake's eyes widened. "We must warn everyone!" He and Bowser were already starting their trek.

"It's too late!" The bandit chanted. "Your pathetic mansion shall fall! All hail the Shadow Gu-"

**"HHUUURRAGGH!"**

Snake and Bowser abruptedly turned to Ganondorf, who had unleashed his devastating Warlock Punch on the bandit, killing him instantly. He shrugged innocently. "The bastard wouldn't shut up."

**2 minutes later**

"This does not bode well." Master Hand said. He, Link, Zelda, Snake, Ganondorf, and Bowser were all in his office. "We'll need a plan."

"I have one." Snake called out. "We're going to need frontliners and backliners. Those to take the fighting up close, and those to provide support. They'll come from every direction, considering their previous strategies. We'll need many forces to equalize this battle."

Bowser stood up. "My Koopa army is at your disposal, Master Hand." Bowser had a change of heart after the whole Tabuu incident.

"The Alloy Fighting Team will aid us." Master Hand added.

Snake nodded. "King Dedede may lend us his Waddle Dee army as well." He continued his strategy. "We'll also need frontliner generals, those to take the heat."

"I'll go." Link announced. "I've brought chaos here and I'm going to fix it, even if I have to give up my life to."

"That's very noble of you." Master Hand thanked.

Zelda tried to speak against it, but felt a lump in her throat. She wasn't in the mood to lose her old friend, but he was only doing what he thought was right. _Is he trying to go suicidal? _She thought.

"But most of us will have to provide long range support through the windows and rooftops." Snake added. "I assume the Item Storage will be available?"

"Yes." Master Hand said. He snapped his giant fingers. "I just remembered! Crazy!"

Crazy Hand appeared in a cloud of rainbow smoke. "Yes darlin'?"

"Do you remember where you kept your pets?" Master Hand asked.

Crazy Hand cackled. "Of course I do! Why?"

"We're at war with the Shadow Guns, and your pets may turn the tide in our favor." Master Hand replied.

Crazy Hand nodded his... hand. "Well then, buckaroo, my pets shall aid us in our time of needyness!" He vanished in some more multi-colored smoke and confetti.

Snake nodded. "So it's settled. We'll have 10 of our toughest smashers get up on the frontlines with our main forces, while the rest of us provide long range support."

Link got up. "I'm going to prepare." he said simply, leaving the room. Zelda excused herself and followed after him in silence.

Finally, Link stopped walking and turned to Zelda. "Okay... what?"

Zelda sighed, rubbing her arm. "I'm worried you'll get hurt out there..."

"Please," Link pleaded. "Do not worry about me. I'm the whole reason we're in this mess. If I had just left town or something, these Shadow Guns would never bothered you guys." Guilt was coated all over his voice.

"It's not your fault." Zelda replied, involuntarily getting closer to him. "You're still a smasher and we look after each other. Even Ganondorf."

"I'm not a smasher." Link said grimmly. "Not anymore." He turned away and started walking.

Zelda felt her heart crushed. It was as if she was watching Link head towards death itself. Defeated, she sighed, heading towards her own room to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Link stopped and looked behind him, to see that Zelda had left. He sighed. _Zelda... If only you knew of my position. _He thought, refering to how he felt responsible for luring these bandits to the mansion. _And now everyone is going to pay the price for my actions..._

With a heavy heart, Link shuffled along.

Tonight was going to change everything.

**Whew... one hell of a chapter, eh?**

**Zin Hai'ju: Why am I still in your author's notes?**

**Because I get lonely... Besides, as long as you're in my A/Ns, you'll still have a part in the story, even after you die!**

**Zin Hai'ju: Horray!**

**Well, got to go, mates. Oh, and be sure to vote on the poll, and check up on my profile too! You'll find news relating to me there, so if you see I haven't been up in a while, it'll be worth checking the profile page. Also, The Four Swordsmen is going under development again!**

**Roy: YAY!**

**Yup! So check on both this story and The Four Swordsmen for updates!**

**All Three: Hazaah!**


	10. Saharan Showdown

**No big A/N today.**

**Zin Hai'ju: Aww...**

**However-**

**Zin Hai'ju: YAY!**

**I must warn you that due to the fact that I am updating through an immensely crappy laptop that doesn't even have Microsoft Word, I am unable to spellcheck this. Please excuse any spelling mistakes, I went through this thing the best I could.**

**Zin Hai'ju: That means he used Notepad! Horray!**

**One more thing, some people are asking why Zelda has had a sudden change of heart towards Ike. Two Words: Saharan Spy. The villains matter here too!**

**Chapter 10: Saharan Showdown**

Link made sure he had his bombs ready. Checking to make sure his boomerang was secure, the hero drew breath heavily.

After much heated debate, the frontliners were announced to be Link, Ganondorf, Bowser, Mario, Ike, Donkey Kong, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Captain Falcon, and Marth. Everyone else would be staying in the mansion to provide long range support.

After checking that everything was in order, Link walked out of the door, ready to face the fiends that have hounded him for so long.

**Zelda's Room**

Peach had already left to inspect the items. Zelda had told her of what Link had done to protect her against Levina. Peach lightened up on her abuse against Link and stopped attacking him, much to Zelda's relief.

Zelda prepared herself in silence as well. She then heard a knock on the door. She quickly opened it, to see Link, clad in his regular, green tunic. "Hello Link." She said uneasily.

"Zelda," He said slowly. "I'm sorry about that little argument earlier. It's just that things have been really stressful for me and-"

He was cut short when the princess suddenly hugged him. She laid her head on his chest as he returned the hug. "I forgive you. Just make sure you come out alive." She whispered.

"I'll make that a promise." Link replied. Although, he wasn't too sure if he could live up to that promise.

**Right Before the Siege**

Link had been in charge of the front of the mansion. It felt odd the be surrounded by so many Waddle Dees, Koopas, and Alloys, all of which who were once enemies. Sure enough, Marth and Ike were also frontliners in that area.

It was deathly quiet. No foes in sight yet. The sun was closing, letting a blood-red sunset take over the sky. Dark clouds littered the heavens, predicting the upcoming event.

"Guys," Marth called out. "We got trouble." He pointed into the distance, where a bandit was carrying the Shadow Guns banner.

Link readied his sword and shield. "Here they come!" He yelled to the mansion. Zelda, Pit, Fox, Falco, Snake, Diddy Kong, and Kirby, who were stationed in their side, were either on the roof or inside the building, weapons locked and loaded.

The bandit was carrying a gray bugle and sounded a battle tune. "Your precious mansion shall burn to the ground!" He zealously chanted. Hundreds of Shadow Guns enforcers and agents rushed forward. "ATTACK!"

They wielded guns, knives, pistols, bats, and all sorts of dangerous weaponry to combat. One, for some reason, even came in with a fish wrapped in newspaper. Nonetheless, they were serious on destroying the mansion.

Link led his army forward as well, followed closely by Marth and Ike. Swords drew blood, spears were flung, and bodies started to pile up.

The Hylian used his spin attack, careful not to hit any allies. He stopped just in time to dodge a bat swing from another enemy. He retaliated with a swift stab. More bandits surrounded him, twirling nunchucks and loading pistols. "I need some help!"

Marth assisted the Hylian, quickly slicing through some more bandits. "Anything for an old friend." He said.

_At least not everyone hates me. _Link thought as the two swordsmen were surrounded.

Meanwhile, Zelda kept her eyes glued on the three swordsmen, hitting anyone that dared to get close to them with some Din's Fire. Had anyone been paying attention, one would realize that she was especially focused on Link.

Back on the battlefield, the Hylian was slicing through bandits left and right. Ike rushed past him and took care of another group. But it was no use. Waves just kept coming and coming. If it weren't for the many Goombas and Waddle Dees taking some blows, the mansion would have surely been overwhelmed.

After much fighting, Link quickly tried to think of a way to get the bandits to retreat as the 4th wave of them came in.

Link noticed in the distance, one of the leaders, one he was quite familiar with. "That's the Saharan Spy!" He noticed.

Indeed, the cigarette smoking rogue smiled deviously. "Zis' is a day of our triumph!" he cackled.

Link quickly ran back to the mansion. He quickly stopped in front of Marth. "Cover for me! I'll be back in a minute." Before Marth could object, Link already ran off into the mansion.

Both the Smash Mansion forces and Shadow Gun forces were declining, but more and more bandits were coming in.

"Wait a sec," Noted Diddy Kong. "Isn't that a Cracker Launcher in that bandit's hands?"

Indeed, several of the bandits were now equipped with the Smash Mansion's dangerous weapons.

Marth nimbly dodge another Ray Gun shot as he deflected another with his sword. However, a bandit hit him in the back with a bat, sending him reeling into Ike, knocking them both over. The bandits dangerously surrounded them, ready to finish them off. Zelda was trying her best to keep the bandits off of the two, but there were just far too many of them.

Suddenly, Link, now riding a Fire Lion, bashed through the door. The lion roared loudly, scaring the enemy forces. Link kicked the side of his beast, causing it to charge forward. "Just like riding a horse!" He laughed. Thankfully, the saddle was fire-proof, installed by Crazy Hand himself.

The bandits fled at the sight of such a deadly mount. The unlucky few who were caught were quickly turned into ashes or food for the lion.

While he managed to chase the bandits off, Link still needed to attack the Saharan Spy in order to stop the invasion. So he kicked the Lion again, making him move forward, towards the spy. "I'm coming for you next!" Link shouted.

The Saharan Spy already saw the swordsman coming. With inhuman speeds, he quickly drew his revolver and landed a headshot on the incoming beast, killing it instantly. Thanks to the sudden, dying stop, Link was flung forward, near the Spy.

"I'm tired of these games!" Link shouted angrily. "Leave now or I'll kill you where you stand!"

"I think not," The rogue said. "As long as Henry Falicain is still alive, your pathetic life will be in danger." He threw the revolver onto the ground. "Let's settle this like gentlemen." He pulled out his butterfly knife, red with dried blood.

Link rushed at the hated man and sliced forward, missing the spy as he nimbly backflipped. "You underestimate my fighting skills." He jumped forward, kicking Link in the face. This sent him reeling to the side, temporarily letting his guard down. The spy took his opportunity to slice at Link's chest, drawing some blood.

Link held in a grunt of pain and quickly smashed forward with his shield. The Spy was hit, sending him crashing into the ground. He didn't get up. Link knew this most likely another trap, as he had pulled off the same trick before.

Link kicked backwards, expecting to hit the invisible man, but he didn't feel anything. "What the-"

"Hey! I could use some help!" Ike called out from afar. Link immediately turned his attention to him. Indeed, Ike was having trouble fending off against the multitude of bandits. Link rushed towards the swordsman and swift killed the bandits near him.

Ike's smile turned a little devious. "Thank you, you idiotic simpleton!" Suddenly, he drew the butterfly knife and slashed forward. This time, he managed to badly injure Link's arm. Blood poured out from the wound. The disguised spy quickly dealt three more vicious attacks, cutting Link's face, leg, and left hand.

"AAUGH!" Link yelled, his vision becoming hazy from blood loss.

'Ike' smiled evilly. "Good-bye, Hero."

He was about to bring the knife down to end Link's life, but was suddenly knocked back in a small explosion. "What the-"

Zelda quickly jumped in front of Link, holding a fighting stance. "If you want him, you'll need to go through me!" She bravely chanted.

The spy took off his disguise. "As you wish, princess!" He slashed forward again, missing. He sidestepped out of the way when Zelda was about to set him ablaze with a Din's Fire attack. She couldn't react in time to prevent the spy from cutting her shoulder.

"Ahh!" She cried, unable to hold the tears from pain. She didn't give though. She kicked the assailant backwards, sending some electricity in him as well.

The Saharan Spy glared at princess. "You cannot win! I have more experience on the battlefield than both of you combined!"

"Yeah, but how about all _four _of us combined?"

"Wha-"

The Spy was cut off when a sudden kick came from behind. The attacker was, to Link's surprise, Ike. Ike ran up to the Spy before he could recover and grabbed him. After kneeing him in the stomach about 4 times, he threw him forward and into Marth's sword, which went straight through his heart.

Link looked up at Ike. "You... came...?"

Ike nodded. "I fight for my friends." He said, a light smile on his face.

"Can you walk?" Marth asked, concern ridden in his voice.

Link tried his best to get up on his own, but his leg had been cut too deeply. "Argh!" He groaned, relaxing himself.

Zelda quickly reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a Heart Container. The moment it touched Link, his wounds were partially healed. The princess was relieved that it saved him. "I knew that'd come in handy!" She exclaimed.

"So... are we cool?" Link asked Ike, now able to stand.

Ike nodded slightly. "Yeah. It doesn't matter what happens or what I say, I won't turn my back on my friends."

"Ugh..." Said the familiar rogue, now about a good 20 feet away. "I just hate these sickening reunions."

"He's still alive?" Marth questioned in disbelief. He was yet to be told that the spy could do that.

Link cursed under his breath. "You guys need to stay at the mansion," He told his comrades. "We can't afford those bandits overrunning us. I'll hunt down this bastard myself."

Marth and Ike wasted no time rushing back to the mansion, though Zelda hesitated. "Don't die on me," She warned. "You made a promise, and by the goddesses, you'll keep it." She then followed the others.

"I'm waiting," The spy said, notably annoyed.

Link charged at the man once more. This time, he was ready for any tricks he had up his sleeve. Right when he was about to slash the spy, he made a run into Smashville.

"I'm not letting you escape again!" Link vowed, chasing after him.

Many of the citizens found it odd that such a handsomely dressed man was running through town with a butterfly knife, but people found it more odd when an elf with a sword and shield was chasing him yelling "I'll kill you!"

Nonetheless, they tried to make sure the two had plenty of room, lest they be killed instead.

Link continued to chase the villain for several minutes, eventually chasing him down to a dark alley. "You have nowhere to run now!" He growled dangerously.

The spy just grinned wickedly. He kicked open a manhole and slid down into the sewers. "Hahaha!" he cackled, snorting after. He quickly traversed in the dangerous sewers, Link following after him.

About 5 minutes of running had passed, and Link had lost the spy at a multi-passage area. "Noo!" He shouted in defeat. He could have gone down any one of the four passages ahead of him. Plus, he had lost sight of the villain several turns ago, so he knew he wouldn't be able to find him.

Meanwhile, through one of the passages, the Saharan Spy laughed triumphantly. "Another sucessful evasion! I do say that was my best one yet!"

"I beg to differ." Said a dark shadow.

Suddenly, an unknown figure knocked the Saharan Spy out by hitting him in the head with a sledgehammer.

"Did he give us the dead ringer again?" The sledgehammer-wielding man asked.

"No. This time we got him for good." The first voice said.

"Shh!" A different, feminine voice called out. "Someone's coming!"

The figures hid themselves and the spy before Link came rushing by. "Dammit!" He cursed. "Where is he?" Link looked around, trying to find a sign of where the rogue had escaped to.

Suddenly, he felt a mighty blow against his head and collapsed to the ground unconcious.

**Cliffhanger! Mwahaha!**

**Zin Hai'ju: Mwahaha!**

***clears throat* Anyways, there you have it, this fiction is not dead either! I intend on finishing this one, but frankly it's not even half over yet, so we don't know when...**

**Zin Hai'ju: Yippie!**


	11. The Brotherhood of Freedom

***blows on a noisemaker* Happy early Birthday to this fiction!**

**Zin Hai'ju: Happy Birthday to you!**

***cuts the cake* Anyways, as a birthday present from this fiction to you, I got this chapter done EXTRA early! I mean, how's that for a concept?**

**Zin Hai'ju: Quickly! Someone get me a Banjo so we can do some rock'n birthday songs!**

**Chapter 11: The Brotherhood of Freedom**

"Does anyone see him?" Marth shouted, searching into the distance. Not long after Link had chased after the commander, the bandits were starting to lose their edge. Soon, they were repelled and the mansion was saved.

"Negatory." Ike replied, searching similarly. "Can you see anything, Zelda?" He called out.

The princess, who was still on the roof, shook her head. "No..." She said gravely. Why was she feeling so depressed all of a sudden? Link's gone on even _more _dangerous missions and has been away longer, but new feelings for the swordsman have immensely complicated her relationship, with both Link and Ike. "I don't see him anywhere."

The still-dark clouds started to thunder, foreshadowing the incoming weather.

Marth called up to Zelda, "I'm sorry, but we'll need to search tomorrow. It's getting late, and the storm's not going to be a light one."

Zelda felt a tug at her heart. Marth was right about the storm being heavy, but she really wanted to see Link again; to see if he was okay, to see if he was still in need of healing, to see if _that dirty low-life that hurt him had a nice, grizzly death_. She stopped herself there. Why was she being so overprotective? Could it be...

"Zelda!" Marth's voice called, interrupting her thoughts. "Didn't you hear me! We gotta get back inside!"

The princess looked out into the town that Link had chased the Saharan Spy into one last, regretful time before entering the mansion once more.

**The Sewers**

"...so then I said, 'Sorry, my lady, but my heart belongs to someone else.' But the thing is, it doesn't!"

"There are so many uncountable wrong things with you..."

"Wait, the elf is waking up!"

Link heard the voices of his assailants. He opened up his tired eyes, to see... darkness. Nothing, but darkness.

"Who's there?" Link questioned, alarmed. Another thing he noticed, is that his arms and legs were tied together and he was sitting in a chair. _Crap_. He thought. _Can't bust myself out of this one..._

"Good work, Ryan! Those new blindfolds seem to work very well."

"Thanks! Don't you just love my economic decisions?"

"_Ehem_." Link interrupted. The unknown people appeared to have forgotten about him.

"Oh, right. I got it from here guys." He heard the voice clear his throat. "Where the others?" The voice interrogated.

"What others?" Link asked honestly.

"Come on, elf boy!" The warden shouted. "We know you're working for the Shadow Guns!"

Link's ears perked up. Others who were fighting the Shadow Guns? Perhaps he could somehow persuade them to let him go. "I do not work for those murderous fiends." Link said.

"How can we trust you?"

"Well," Link replied. "I am Link. I come from the Smash Mansion not far from here."

"Link... Wait, aren't you the one who was banned because you viciously attack one of your own?"

_Dammit! _Link thought. _That dumb mistake just won't stop hounding me!_

Link silenced himself, unwilling to answer. He felt a punch in gut. "Augh!"

"I asked you a damn question! And by God, you'll answer it! Are you the one who attacked your own?"

Again, Link was silent. This time, he felt a sharp kick in his face. He groaned in pain. Hadn't he beaten enough for one day?

He heard the unsheathing of a dagger.

Apparently not...

"I'll ask you one more time, punk. If you don't answer this time, we'll make sure you _stay _silent! Did. You. Attack. Your. Own?"

Link tried to open his mouth, but his mind betrayed him. Something told him that this group didn't support fights within the friendship-area.

"Well, this one's useless." The unknown figure raised the dagger high into the air, ready to end Link's life. Link mentally groaned. His life had been threatened FOUR times that day, and he had enough.

"STOP!" A feminine, yet stern voice yelled. "What are you doing to this poor man?"

Link's eyes widened behind his blindfold. It definitely didn't sound like Zelda, or any woman he'd met. But who was his guardian angel that just saved him from being executed? His question was answer as he felt something tugging at the back of the blindfold. After a bit of fiddling, he felt that his arms and legs were free as well, apparently untied.

The blindfold slid off and Link saw his savior. A breath-taking woman had a look of concern on her face and made a frown with her red lips. Her long, blond hair went far past her shoulders. Her bright, green eyes watched the Hylean she had just saved. She wore a leather sleeveless shirt as well as leather pants, both a deep purple color.

"I'm so sorry," Her voice sang. "Junebug can be quite... reckless sometimes." She glared at the man in the back, who had a look of annoyance.

Link found himself staring at the woman. He mentally shook it off and shrugged. "Well, it's only like the fourth time I was about to die today." He said in a casual way. "It's alright. This kind of thing happens to me all the time."

The woman smiled warmly at him. "My name is Ionessa." She said politely. "Why are you down here? Not a lot of people travel in the sewers."

Link decided to tell the truth to Ionessa. "I was chasing down a Shadow Guns general who called himself the 'Saharan Spy'. Unfortunately, I was stopped in my tracks when I was jumped by someone."

Ionessa bit her lip guiltily. "I'm terribly sorry," She beckoned Link to follow her out the door. "You see, I actually belong to a secluded organization called the 'Brotherhood of Freedom'. We've been silently waging war with the Shadow Guns. We actually have the Saharan Spy in captivity. Our guards must have attacked you too, apparently."

Link looked around. No longer was he in the sewers, but in a small camp on the outskirts of Smashville. About 10 large tents were set up, 2 of them filled with weapons and supplies. A blazing fireplace was set in the middle of the camp, where several people were conversing amongst each other.

Ionessa waved. "Leo!" She called out to the men at the fire. "He's awakened!"

One of the men beckoned the two to come to him. They obeyed.

"Welcome," The man said. He looked no older than 21, perhaps still an adolescence. He had black hair, long and unkept, going down to past his eyes. He had a tight, blue, sleeveless armor piece that had a few emergency throwing knives hidden in the folds. His blue gloves and pants all had ready-to-use throwing knives and equipment. Even his boots had sharp blades sticking out, making even a simple kick a deadly tactic. "Sorry for our guards attacking you. Usually, the only other people lurking in the sewers are the Shadow Guns themselves. My name's Leonardo, but everyone calls me 'Leo.'"

Link nodded. "I forgive you. Anyone who's fighting these wretches is a friend of mine."

Leo smiled at the green-clad man. "You don't look like you're from around here. Who are you and why did you come here?"

"Well," Link began. "My name is Link; I've originally hail from a distant land called 'Hyrule', but came to Smashville years ago to participate in a series of tournaments in the prestigious Smash Mansion."

"Link, eh?" Leo asked. He looked the Hero up and down a bit. "I've heard of you. Some good... but a lot bad. However, I have been hearing some more good recently."

Link nodded slightly, staring into the blazing fire. "I attacked another competitor a few years ago and was banned. He had stolen something very important from me, and I couldn't handle it..."

"What did he steal?" Leo questioned, intrigued by Link's story.

Link looked up at the stranger. "He stole a woman I loved..."

Leo's eyes widened, but slowly shrunk. "I see..."

"After that fiasco," Link continued, "I spent a couple years by myself in a small house. But one night I got attacked by the Shadow Guns. Being the fighter I was, I easily overpowered them, but their attacks soon became more common and deadly, eventually forcing me back to the Smash Mansion. We did some investigating and discovered that one of their leaders, the 'Saharan Spy' they called him, was to lead an assault army to destroy the mansion. We fended them off for a while, but I went by myself to hunt down the spy, eventually chasing him to the sewers."

Leo smiled. "So _you're _the one who got the spy into our hands! If I had one, I'd give you a medal." Link smiled back, relieved that he didn't have to keep talking about his agonizing journey. "He's one of their main generals, always getting away from us. But thanks to you, we finally have him! I can't thank you enough for this."

Link's face turned a bit red. "Well, do you think that you can possibly find me a shortcut back to the mansion? We still need to plan our next action against these bandits."

The other man thought for a while. "If you Smashers are also fighting against these crooks, then by all means, we should work together. Tell your leader that we're also fighting these bandits. I'll send an emissary tomorrow, noon. Melinda!" He called out.

Another woman, who looked a bit younger than Leo, walked up to the trio, standing close to the Brotherhood's leader. "Yes, Leo?" She inquired.

"You and Ionessa will escort Link back to the Smash Mansion through our underground passageways." Leo instructed.

Melinda smiled warmly at her commander. "Won't you miss me?"

Leo pulled the girl into a quick hug. "Of course I will, babe."

"Err... Can you please _not _do that?" Link asked. It was already bad enough that Zelda didn't return his feelings, but staring at a couple that represented more or less of what he wanted with her was just plain hurtful.

Melinda raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, but Ionessa giggled slightly. "Follow me, Link." The two girls made a run towards the bustling city of Smashville, with Link following close behind.

**Smash Mansion**

Zelda couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, but just couldn't rest. It was starting to rain, and thunder was roaring, and she was concerned for Link's safety.

Zelda sighed. She ignited her fingertip to find her way around the room. Link had yet to return. Zelda pouted. "I'm going to find him." She said quietly, careful not to awake her roommate.

She slowly wandered to her closet and threw off her nightgown in favor of the more publically decent red one. She focused her magic for a much-longer ranged version of her Farore's Wind spell. She used her magic to take her in front of the mansion.

Zelda shivered at the temperature decrease. She hugged herself as she started her trek into the city.

She thought about how hectic her life has been in the past few days. She loved the excitement and close calls, but what she really liked, was having Link around.

She didn't know why, but just being around Link was enough to lift her spirits. She loved his company and stood up for him to get him a room at the mansion.

She felt sadness and grief when he disappeared to find the Shadow Guns general. She felt anger and resentment against the man who had harmed him so. She felt happiness and bliss when he tickled and played with her. And then, realization hit her like a brick to the face.

She was falling in love with Link.

Zelda stopped, realizing her thoughts and feelings. She was falling in love with the man she had known nearly all her life since that fateful day in her garden.

"I need to tell him..." She said softly.

Thanks to the streets being so illuminated thanks to the multitude of street lights and open shops, it wasn't long until Zelda had finally found Link.

She stood across the street from him. Link hadn't seen her yet. He was too busy talking with Ionessa to notice her. They laughed as they talked, angering Zelda. She also noticed they were standing a _little _too close to each other.

And then Ionessa kissed Link on the cheek.

But Link wasn't disgusted or appalled by it... he even seemed... _happy_.

Zelda's heart sunk. "How...?" Was the only word she could muster. The two walked towards the mansion after noticing their other companion beckoning, leaving Zelda, who they still didn't notice, behind. Zelda felt a sudden depression overcome her as she watched this mysterious woman carry away Link from her.

"Why...?"

**Ooh! Looks like Zelda has some competition... (evil smiley)**

**Zin Hai'ju: I thought you didn't do stuff like this.**

**I thought so too, then I realized it's this kind of dramatic crap that keeps people interested; myself included.**

**Zin Hai'ju: Ingenious! Well, good day, reader! See you in the next chapter!**


	12. Not Invited

**Zin Hai'ju: How is it that I've been in the Author's Note more times than Link has nearly died?**

***shrug* I dunno. I just like having you here. Anyways, here's another chapter of "Remember Me?"**

**Zin Hai'ju: And in the spirit of things, Peach also is a half-comic relief. Never thought of her that way, huh?**

**Actually... I think a lot of people already have.**

**Chapter 12: Not Invited**

After seeing Link getting kissed by the new girl, Zelda quickly returned to the Smash Mansion. Thanks to her Farore's Wind, she managed to get there before he could get anywhere near. Although she found herself too old to be crying, that still didn't mean she was sad from the previous scene.

Despite the fact that Peach was a heavy sleeper, she seemed to be quite restless lately. So when Zelda had walked back into her room, she saw Peach in her bed, reading the same book she had attempted to hid last time.

Peach noticed Zelda and threw the small book behind her back. "Heya Zel!" She greeted overenthusiastically. "What's up?"

Zelda had seen Peach hide the book. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing!" Peach snapped.

"You're lying..." Zelda warned.

Peach sighed. "Okay, it's Link's diary. I know it's not right, but there's some pretty funny stuff in here!"

"Peach! Don't you think Link's going to be furious when he finds out you've been reading his diary?" Zelda interrogated.

"Hey, I'm not the only rulebreaker! Mind you I found this in _your _drawer." Peach defended.

Zelda stared in disbelief. "You went through my stuff?"

"I thought you were borrowing my gloves and left them in your drawer, then I saw that little green book in the corner!" Peach explained. "Here, if it makes you feel any better, you can have your precious book back." The princess revealed the journal and tossed it to Zelda, who caught it easily. "If that book represents what he's feeling now, he's still got the hots for you."

"I hope so..." Zelda replied, slightly frowning as she put the book back into her drawer.

"Wait... I thought you liked Ike." Peach said. "Is there something you're not telling your roommate?"

Zelda sighed and flopped onto her bed. After a while of silence, she confessed, "I think I'm falling in love with Link."

Peach raised an eyebrow at her friend. "That's crazy talk! You've only been with Link for a few days!"

"It only took about three and a half hours for me to fall for Ike, but you never objected to that." Zelda responded.

Peach stood silent for a moment, contemplating. She then spoke again, "I can't argue with my own logic, now can I?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Zelda asked, desperate for answers.

Peach shook her head, thinking that Zelda was making this a lot more complicated than it needed to be. "Just throw yourself at him; he already admitted that he still likes you."

"It's not that simple anymore," Zelda replied, laying down on her stomach. "I was out trying to find him, and I did. But, I saw another girl kiss him... After that I just came back here..."

Peach bit her lip. "Well..." She began. "Maybe you could try to win him over? Who is this boy-stealer anyway?"

"I don't know," Zelda replied. Looking back on it, maybe she should have actually stopped Link regardless of the women with him. "I was just too hurt to stop him..."

Peach thought for a moment. "Well, maybe it's not too late!" She got up and closed the distance between herself and Zelda. "Where did she kiss him?"

"Cheek..." Zelda reluctantly responded, unsure why Peach was asking such a trivial question.

Peach nodded. "Okay, you'll need a large towel, a revealing bikini, breast implants, and _a condom_."

"Peach! What are you thinking?" Zelda practically yelled, somewhat disturbed at Peach's suggestion.

"Just throwing ideas around."

Before anymore dialogue could be exchanged between the princesses, they heard a knock on the door.

"Zelda, you awake?" Came Link's voice.

Zelda sighed in relief, knowing that Link had come home safely. But she realized she still didn't have a plan to win him over. "He's coming! What do I do?"

Peach whispered, "Show of more cleavage! Men _love _that!"

"No!" Zelda whispered back, blushing heavily. She did, however, consider that an option. Loud enough for Link to hear her, she called out, "Yes, I'm awake."

Peach quickly slid back into her bed and pulled the covers over herself, mouthing "Good luck".

Link opened the door. "Sorry I woke you up." He apologized.

"No, I was already awake." Zelda replied, faking a smile. "What is it?"

"You will not _believe_ who I ran into tonight." He said, beaming. "Come on," He took a hold of Zelda's hand and led her out of the door. Luckily for her, Link was too focused on trying to find the way back to the lobby than looking at her, as she was blushing at Link holding her hand.

When they finally made their way down to the illuminated lobby, Zelda saw the two women waiting. She instantly recognized the first as the one who had kissed Link and the other as the one who had dragged them away.

"It's about time." Melinda noted. "Who's this?"

"My name is Zelda," The princess responded.

"Ionessa." The blond woman politely greeted. "This here is Melinda."

Zelda noticed that Link was still holding her hand. "Erm... Link, you can let go now."

Link's face went red after he realized that he was still holding Zelda's hand. Melinda smirked and Ionessa chuckled slightly, while Zelda herself was also quite amused. "These two are members of a guild called the 'Brotherhood of Freedom.' They've been fighting the Shadow Guns for a while too, and they've asked for our help."

Zelda nodded. "Well, that's great news and all, but why should we trust you?" She sent the two girls an interrogative look, though more of a glare at Ionessa.

Melinda looked back at Zelda. "We've been hunting down plenty of Shadow Gun bandits. In fact, if it weren't for us your little boyfriend here would be dead."

Zelda blushed. "He's not my boyfriend!" _Though, I wish he was_.

"_Whatever you saaay..._" Melinda mocked.

"Ugh..." Zelda groaned. "Fine, I can see that you mean good. But what are you even able to do?"

"_This_." Melinda replied.

Suddenly, a chaotic, purple explosion happened before Zelda's eyes. Before she knew it, she was sent flying backwards, crashing into the ground. She made a quiet "ow" and got back up.

With a superior smirk on her face, Melinda stopped channeling the chaotic magic from her fingers, which had caused the explosion. "Does that qualify as enough, or do I need to literally haunt your dreams too?"

"No thanks, you're good." Zelda grumbled, getting off of the ground. Link had a face of concern on as Zelda dusted herself off. "Okay, but what are you here for anyways?"

"Our leader, Leonardo Cardinare, requests that several of you come to our encampment on the outskirts of Smashville." Ionessa said, entering the conversation. "He wants to make a battle plan to defeat these bandits."

"We'll come by again tomorrow noon." Melinda continued. "It's been nice talking, but we must leave now." The woman closed her eyes and channeled a purple-pink sphere around herself and her companion. In a flash, the two were gone, leaving the stunned princess and hero alone.

"I don't like her." Zelda said flatly.

Link frowned. Somehow, he knew she would say that. "I know that she's rough, but she's quite likable."

"No, I meant the blonde." Zelda specified.

Link raised an eyebrow. "You barely know her..."

_Yeah,_ Zelda thought bitterly. _Figures that you're the one defending her. _"I just... don't trust her..."

"You can't judge a book by its cover." Link defended. "Besides, don't you think you were being a bit rude to them?"

"You're just blindly trusting them!" Zelda snapped back. "Hasn't it occurred to you that _maybe _they're not who they lead on to be?"

Link glared at the princess. "No, because they're genuine people, not those who put on a fake smile and stab you in the back!"

Zelda only stared angrily at the Hylean. "I'm just trying to protect you..." She said, her voice lowering to a calmer level.

"I'm perfectly fine on my own." Link stated. He started to walk away. "I'll be in my room."

He started his trek, not turning back to look at the fuming princess.

Zelda sighed in defeat. "This _will_ end up blowing up in your face, Link..." She mumbled in an all-knowing manner.

**Meanwhile**

A cloaked figure ran through the halls of his leader's lair, with another cloaked man behind him. "Where's Falicain? I need him immediately!" He told a guard, who had inquired him on what his rush was.

The guard hesitantly led the two men to Falicain's lair. The leader was busy examining some rifles and a grenade launcher. The man looked up, not taking his hand off of one his weapons. "What is it?" He spoke in a demanding tone.

"Sir, this scout wishes to speak." The guard replied. He gestured to the cloaked men.

The first walked up to his leader. "This fellow here says he has some 'useful info' for you."

"Well," Falicain roared. "What the hell is it then?"

The other man pulled his cloak down. "I got some info for ya, Falicain."

"Oh... one of the Brotherhood's gone bad, now has he?" Falicain asked.

"I can't stand that fool's orders anymore," The other man replied, referring to Leo. "I want to silence him, _permanently_; and I think I know how to do it, as well as finish off that pitiful rebellion"

Falicain put down his gun. "I'm listening..."

**The Next Day**

The princess sat in front of her mirror, brushing her hair. It turns out Crazy Hand was mourning over the Fire Lion that was slain that night, so he wasn't around to blow her cover, as curfew was being enforced. She was also wondering how no one in the mansion woke up when she was blown up by Melinda that night.

She stopped when she heard another knock on the door. She got up from her spot and answered the door. Unsurprisingly, Link was there.

"Hey..." He greeted. "I'm sorry about last night."

Zelda didn't have the heart to stay mad at him. She gave a light smile at the green-clad hero. "There's no need to be. I was the one being childish." She did not really mean the last sentence. She just didn't like this newcomer who was trying to steal her Link.

"So... we're okay?" Link questioned slowly.

Zelda had a smirk in her mind. "Of course."

"Can I stay for a bit?" Link asked shyly.

"Again, of course." Zelda replied. She was very greatful that Peach had a matchup that morning, so she wouldn't both her. "What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking last night," Link explained. "Doesn't 'Leonardo' sound kinda familiar?"

Zelda nodded, remembering how the girls mentioned a "Leonardo" that night. "Yes, it kinda does."

"It rings a bell, but I can't really remember where I heard it from." Link said.

"Well, we are meeting him today, aren't we?" Zelda reasoned.

Link bit his lip, as if guilty. "Actually... _we're _not going... _I am_."

Zelda just stared at Link. "You're not taking me?"

"You were acting really immature with those girls last night," He explained. "I can't risk that happening again and giving us a bad reputation with the Brotherhood. Please understand, Zelda."

_He just wants to spend time with that blond tramp, that's why he's not inviting me! _Zelda thought bitterly. "I see..."

"I'm really sorry." Link apologized. "I'll see you later on tonight," He met eyes with the princess one more time. "Later." And he left, closing the door behind him.

Zelda growled. She threw herself onto her bed, angry at the recent chain of events. "Why do I always fall in love with handsome idiots?"

**(Not much) Later**

Link's small crew waited in front of the mansion. He had told Master Hand of the previous night (though, he did exclude parts about Zelda, as she would most likely get punished for breaking curfew), so he and several other smashers were ready to meet them. Link, Ike, Mario, Samus, Fox, and Lucario all stood with Master Hand, ready for their departure.

To pass the time, Mario, Lucario, Fox, and Ike were playing a quick game of Go-Fish.

"Got any three's?" Fox asked.

Ike shook his head. "Nope."

Without deliberately looking, Lucario revealed. _He's lying._

"Hey! You looked!"

_No, I didn't. I find it quite easy to see when a human lies. _Lucario replied. _That, and you're accidentally showing me your cards._

Ike grumbled as he passed a few threes to Fox, who ended up winning for a fourth time in a row. Lucario got up after Fox's victory, and walked up to Link, who was staring in the distance. _You seem troubled._

Link turned to face the Poke'mon. "My problems don't really concern you, Lucario." Link replied, quietly so the other Smashers wouldn't hear.

Lucario nodded._ Zelda was quite upset when you refused to take her with us._

"I know," Link replied. "I just... didn't want her getting this other guild angry with us."

_You're lying. _Lucario repeated. _I can see that there's another reason for her exclusion._

"Fine," Link admitted. He looked around, to make sure the other Smashers weren't eavesdropping. "I _really _like this one girl I met when I was first at the camp. Zelda was being rude to her last night, so I don't want to upset her again."

Lucario raised an eyebrow. _You're pushing away one of your best friends and being a foolish ruler over a woman? Just be aware of who's being hurt. _Lucario slowly walked away, leaving Link boggled.

"It's not like I'm hurting anyone doing this." Link mumbled. "It's not like Zelda's that obsessed with this meeting."

"Look's like they're here!" Samus called out, involuntarily breaking Link from his thoughts. Sure enough, three figures were running towards the mansion. One was recognizable as the infamous Ionessa, while the other two, both male, were unknown. Link waved, mainly to Ionessa.

They noticed Link and waved back, running towards them. "There you guys are!" The shorter guy said. He looked much like Leo in physical appearance, but was wearing leather armor and had a bow with him. "Sorry we're late, we ran into a few... unforseen events along the way here." He had a much cheerier attitude than Leo. "The name's Ryan, Leo's brother. And this lug here," He gestured to the red-headed man next to him. "Is Anthon."

The taller man smiled. "Pleasure to meet you all." He said. He was quite tall, surpassing even Ike. He carried a hammer on his back and was quite buff, but seemed to be genuinely humble. "Whenever you're ready to go, we'll take ya to our camp."

While the other Smashers conversed with the new arrivals, Ionessa found her way next to Link. "I really think this whole meeting will help out with this Shadow Guns crisis." She whispered.

"I think so too." Link replied, face turning slightly pink. "Who knows? Maybe it'll solve more than just this gang problem."

"Perhaps..." Ionessa replied, with a smirk on her lips.

**Zelda's Room**

"It's not fair!" Zelda shouted, kicking the wall. She realized the folly of her ways when she grasped her foot in pain. "Ow!"

Peach, who had returned from her match against Lucas, sympathetically looked at her friend. "I know you're hurting- especially your foot," She got a glare from the other princess. "But you shouldn't be killing yourself over this."

Zelda collapsed onto her bed. "I know that, but I can't help it! I'm going to lose Link to some _bitch_!"

Peach gasped. She had never heard Zelda use such a foul word. Weren't all princesses supposed to be prim and proper? "I didn't know you had such... a _colorful _vocabulary..."

"Shut up!" Zelda demanded, frightening her friend. "Tell me, what am I supposed to do now?"

Peach thought for a moment. _Okay, insane princess alert! Time to bust out the secret weapon. _"First of all, calm down. You can't think of anything with so much anger in your heart." Peach got up from her bed and reached under her bed. She pulled out a small cooler, which was odd as Master Hand didn't allow food in the rooms, and opened it. After some rummaging, she pulled out a small chocolate bar, wrapped up in blank paper. "Here, eat this." She tossed the candy to the other princess.

Zelda caught it. She stared at her friend in disbelief. "How the hell is a chocolate bar going to help me?"

"Chocolate always helps me relax." Peach got another angry look from her friend. "Just eat it." Peach begged.

Zelda knew that her friend would refuse to give her answers. She grumbled as she tore open the wrapper and took a bite out of the candy. Only a few seconds later, she fell asleep, dropping the candy bar.

Peach grinned. "That sleeping powder I laced the bar with does work! Finally, silence at last..." She hopped into her own bed, making herself comfortable.

**Brotherhood of Freedom Camp**

"So it's settled," Leo announced. "We'll have to strike their lair as a counterattack as soon as possible."

The smashers that were assigned to come, Master Hand, a select few of the Brotherhood's members were inside a large tent. They surrounded a regal table, documents scattered all over the table.

"I hope we can finally end this petty gang war once and for all." Master Hand replied happily. "I'll send word to the others at the Smash Mansion."

Link smiled inwardly. A lot of progress of being done that day. He couldn't believe how easily this was going along. At that moment, it seemed that he was on top.

"Sorry for crashing the party!" A dark voice shouted. "But a deal's a deal! Get 'em!"

Suddenly, about a hundred Shadow Guns bandits came through the door or burst through the walls. Each one was armed with some kind of weapon.

"What the-" Ike was cut off when he was struck on the back of his head, knocking him out.

Each person in the tent tried fighting off the bandits, but they were outnumbered, ten to one. It was no use.

"Who the hell's responsible for this?" Leo roared.

"That'd be me, _old friend_." Came the owner of the voice.

Link instantly recognized the man as he walked in. It was Junebug, his would-be executioner that faithful night.

"Junebug?" Leo asked, not believing his eyes. "I thought you were with us!"

"Well, I've changed my mind." Junebug replied, no remorse in his voice. "This time, I'm at top."

"I hope there's a special place waiting in Hell for you..." Leo growled darkly. Link couldn't help but agree with him.

"Take them away!" Junebug commanded. The bandits dragged the captured smashers, rebels, and hand away. "Burn the camp down!"

Soon, the encampment was engulfed in a blazing inferno. Lucario watched from a distance in horror. Somehow he had escaped from his assailants. _I must warn those at the mansion immediately!_

**Woo! Updating my stories at Midnight without the need of caffine pills/drinks/sugary objects! Let's call it a power called "Author's Endurance!"**

**Zin Hai'ju: Cool! Do you have the power to restore the water supplies of all of the Egypt too?**

**I wish. Anyways, that wraps up another chapter. Thanks for reading! Also, check out the poll on the profile! Debate: Who's better? Ness or Jigglypuff?**


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